THIS season’s harvest is being tipped as variable – across the state and even within regions – but recent timely rain in some parts has helped boost hopes.
Harvest has already begun in the Port Pirie district, while Platinum Ag Crystal Brook agronomist Ian Jones said more farmers would expect to begin reaping mid to late next week.
He said it would be impossible to predict average yields, with some “patches quite fantastic”.
“It’s one of those years where no one will know until we get in the paddock,” he said. “There are going to be people who had frost as well as the dry.”
In the past week there has been a little rain, between two millimetres and 5mm across much of the region.
“It will help those crops that are still green and filling out but for some it will be too late,” he said.
“Comments from some people are they’re ready for this season to be over so they can focus on the next one.”
On the lower Eyre Peninsula, rain between 20-40mm has been benefiting almost all crops, according to Landmark Cummins Ag Services agronomist Mick Broad.
“Certainly three weeks ago, if we’d had rain, we would have been way above average yields, but they should still be average to above average,” he said.
“There would be some canola crops expecting their best average ever.
“We’ve been exceedingly lucky but you don’t have to go too far north of us and it starts to drop away very quickly.”
He estimated the first lot of canola would be close to being sprayed with glyphosate, while he expects the first grain to be harvested about the first week of November.
On Yorke Peninsula, independent agronomist Craig Wissell said the 15-25mm in central and southern regions arrived “in the nick of time”.
“A week or two earlier would have been better but in another week it would have been too late,” he said.
He said crops had been suffering from heat stress and the lack of moisture, with leaves on cereals starting to curl but the rain had them looking “green and fresh”.
He expects yields for those crops still standing to be similar to last year’s season with this rain helping grain fill.
“The rain was the icing on the cake and will all go into grain quality,” he said.
Mr Wissell said central YP had been hit with an unprecedented frost, leading to many cutting for hay.
In the South East, up to 50mm has helped crops still yet to fill out, according to Elders Naracoorte agronomist Jason McClure.
“It’ll definitely guarantee some good yields across the mid to lower SE,” Mc McClure said.
He said the season had delivered “pretty much average rainfall”, except for September.
Elizabeth Anderson
Editor of Stock Journal.
Editor of Stock Journal.
