Potential high for Saddleworth crops

Plantings of wheat, barley, canola and faba beans dominate the landscape, and this year's crops look good despite a raft of challenges, according to AW Vater & Co agronomist Heath Ward.

"We had early issues with insect pressure, as well as waterlogging in certain crops, but at this stage things are looking quite good," Mr Ward said.

He said faba bean crops were looking especially promising so far.

"From what I've seen they've tolerated the wetter conditions early and are flowering quite well," he said. "There's plenty of native bee activity so hopefully the pollination and pod set should be good. We've just obviously got to try and keep the disease out."

Ascochyta blight had been found in some crops earlier on, but chocolate spot now presented the main threat.

"I think as the weather warms up we're going to see chocolate spot take off a bit with these wet conditions," Mr Ward said.

Disease has been at the forefront of Saddleworth farmers' minds for much of the season, with the Beet Western Yellows Virus outbreak hitting the region's canola crops.

"Crops around Saddleworth definitely have been hit," he said. "Early sown areas seem to have been hit the hardest because they had the early aphid pressure during the warmer conditions.

"It's going to be interesting to see how some of these crops recover. We definitely didn't come out unscathed around Saddleworth, but we've fed them up a bit and crops appear to have recovered a bit. It all depends on the level of infection early."

Cereal crops are coming out in head, and at this stage have the potential to yield well.

Mr Ward said Mace remained the dominant wheat variety planted around Saddleworth – despite risks associated with the region's high rainfall – with some Scout still planted and the use of Trojan on the rise.

"Obviously we have to consider and manage the rust issues with Mace but I think we are well on top of that," he said. "The farmers are very educated in what they have to do and they know they've got to act early rather than trying to chase it afterwards."

Hindmarsh and Commander were the most popular barley options, but Mr Ward expected to see a shift towards the new variety Compass next season.

Saddleworth had fared better during the August frosts than some surrounding areas, but a handful of farmers were hit.

"Guys that have been hit with frost are having to cut some crops for hay which they were hoping to harvest for grain, which is a bit unfortunate," Mr Ward said.

After strong rains in February and March got the growing season off to a cracking start, wet weather has become less frequent in the past two months.

"We had good early rainfall, and that's a good thing, but it does create some challenges as well," he said.

"There was some waterlogging in later sown crops – I've had a lot of guys having issues with patch establishment in barley, but that was probably because it was sown last and got bogged in a bit.

"It's definitely dried off now. We're still getting the odd shower here and there, but the crops have started to push their roots down a bit, and they're looking a lot better for it.

"I think the best medicine has been sunshine for those water-logged areas, but we are obviously still seeking some rain, because it is still a long way from being safe."

* Full report in Stock Journal, September 25, 2014 issue.