Heat bursts test resolve of croppers

The weekend's trying conditions came on the tail of the first grain load of the 2015-16 season delivered to Viterra's Port Pirie site on Friday.

Telowie farmer Ian Mudge started reaping peas on Thursday last week and delivered his first load the next day.

"I'm reasonably pleased with how it's gone, considering we haven't had a lot of rain - only about 250 millimetres for the year," he said.

"Yields are still slightly above average."

Mr Mudge will begin reaping cereals crops by next week.

"The hot conditions on the weekend have taken the last bit of green out of everything," he said.

Ben Bussenschutt, who was the first to deliver grain last year, is already reaping barley at Mambray Creek.

"I started on Saturday, after the Yorke Peninsula Field Days, on Hindmarsh barley," he said.

"Quality has been ok and moisture is not a problem, so we can continue on with reaping."

While croppers in the Upper North are travelling quite well, farmers in other areas of the state have started cutting failed crops for hay.

Grain Producers SA chairman Garry Hansen, Coomandook, said the heat and wind had taken its toll on crops.

"Monday definitely knocked crops about but fortunately on Saturday and Sunday it wasn't as hot as predicted," he said.

Mr Hansen said conditions were variable across SA.

"For some people on the Eyre Peninsula, they're probably going to have some of the best crops they've ever had," he said.

"Others are cutting crops down for hay, but at least there are pretty good hay prices at the moment."

The weakening crop conditions not in SA and interstate have led to a price spike.

Ag Scientia's Lloyd George said wheat had rallied between $20 a tonne and $25/t in the past two weeks, while barley had risen $10-$15/t.

"The dry spring and the latest blast of hot weather has certainly added some premiums into Australian markets," he said.

"Despite the dry spring, crops in many areas had been travelling quite well. But, this latest burst of hot weather has really inflicted damage."

Producers interstate have also been hit hard by the dry spring.

"In Vic, a lot of crops are being cut for hay and some crops won't even be harvested," Mr George said.

"El Nino conditions are really being felt in Vic.

"But even in NSW, where things were looking quite good, hot conditions in the past couple of days have taken a bit off the crop potential over there."

He said Australian prices were strengthening relative to global prices.

"But, global prices have also edged up in the past week, not only on the back of concerns about the Australian crop, it is also being driven by dryness in Black Sea countries and parts of the United States," Mr George said.

"The US has just started to plant next year's winter wheat crops, and the conditions are a bit of a concern."

Barley prices are not going up the same extent as wheat due to concerns about China.

"There are still concerns about how much barley China is going to buy this year," Mr George said.

"China took the lion's share of our barley exports last year.