Season 2015 off to a flying start

While the past spring and summer were particularly dry, autumn is shaping up well so far.

Ungarra farmer Campbell Lawrie said it had been a fantastic start, cropping-wise.

"We had a big soaking rain on April 11, with 60 millimetres falling, which was very handy," he said.

"Since then we've had good, smaller falls. While they haven't been huge rainfall events, they have been enough to keep things damp."

Mr Lawrie said the break did not come a minute too early.

"We hadn't had a decent rain since mid-August before the break," he said.

"Considering it stopped raining after mid-August, we were tickled pink with the crops we got last season.

"It was one of our most consistent years on record. We ended up with some really good crops."

Mr Lawrie started seeding on April 21.

"We like to go at the traditional, Anzac day time, so we had planned to dry sow some sheep feed anyway, even if it hadn't started raining," he said.

"But, luckily, we had enough rain to get straight into the cropping program.

"It's really been perfect sowing timing. It was great to get started before Anzac day, and we haven't really stopped since.

"Everything is going in at its optimal time, and we've had a good chance to get on top of weeds."

One major change to the cropping program this season is that canola has been left out of the equation.

"We're not growing any canola this year, we're trying to keep the operation simple and we're sowing more vetch for seed and hay," Mr Lawrie said.

Apart from vetch for hay and grain, he is growing barley, wheat, oaten and wheaten hay and oats for seed and feed.

Mr Lawrie said while it had been a great start to cropping, it had not been as good for livestock.

"The sheep feed is slowly getting away but we are hand-feeding pretty heavily at the moment, which isn't ideal," he said.

While the extended dry period ate away at feed reserves, it did have one benefit - minimal summer spraying, with significant cost savings on-farm.