THE summer cropping season is playing out much like the winter cropping season in many regions of SA, with some crops not quite reaching their potential after a very promising start.
A number of farmers took a gamble after heavy rainfall in November, upping their plantings of cover crops or trying them for the first time, but forecasts of more summer rain haven't come to fruition just yet.
Andrew Smith, who farms with wife Emily and his parents Bevan and Wendy in the hills west of Laura, is hopeful of receiving a decent rain from thunderstorms forecast across the next week, but is still pleased with the role their summer mix is playing within the enterprise.
The Smiths run 700 Merino breeding ewes, 300 Boer goats, Angus-Murray Grey cattle and do some broadacre and cover cropping across 730 hectares.
This season is the third time in the past four seasons the "opportunistic" summer croppers have sown, putting in 75ha the day after receiving 22.5 millimetres of rain in mid-October.
The Smiths mix includes sorghum, sunflower, millet, corn, buckwheat, vetch, peas, clovers, winter canola, mungbeans and teff - a fine-leafed, drought-tolerant grass.
Another 125mm fell in November to get crops up and away and, despite no significant rain since, Mr Smith said they were happy many species had already matured and set seed, while another decent rain would ensure the crop provided a valuable feed resource come lambing.
"We use summer crops primarily for soil health," he said.
"We have something providing shade to the ground, adding biodiversity to the soil ecosystem and protecting from wind and water erosion.
"Also, our main lambing is in May so it's a feed gap filler.
"If we can get another summer thunderstorm or two, we'll have some decent edible cover on the ground for lambing."
Mr Smith said he would consider sowing another 15ha of summer crop with leftover seed if forecast rain did eventuate.
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Running a largely grain-based enterprise at Hoyleton, Tom and Cassi Robinson have been growing summer cover crops for more than a decade.
While they have sold seed in the past, this year's 140ha of corn, sunflowers, millet, sorghum, linseed, mungbeans, cowpeas, tillage radish and volunteer lentils on stubbles is providing cover and improving soil health for the coming winter season cereal or cover crops, while also providing a feed resource for their cattle.
"It's dual purpose in that it provides both feed and cover," Mr Robinson said.
"We're also trying to alleviate soil compaction, improve water infiltration and get a kill on weeds."
This year's cover crops were sown after a winter cover crop that was grazed, in lentil stubbles and on sandhills prone to erosion.
They were sown after 60mm in November, with another 20mm falling only a week later.
The Robinson recently received another 8mm which invigorated the cover crops, but Mr Robinson said they were still doing it "pretty tough".
"We're about a week away from putting cattle on it," he said.
"In an ideal world we'd give it a graze, get another rain and then hope it grows back."
SORGHUM AND MILLET SOWN FOR SHEEP FEED
With a wet summer forecasted and big rain in November, Thornby Premium Lamb's Alex McGorman, Sanderston, planted 200ha of sorghum and French and Japanese millet, with the aim to provide some sheep feed.
He said they'd had no significant rain since, but was hopeful the French millet would turn into a decent crop with more rain.
"The French millet came up pretty well and has a reasonable cover on it, but the sorghum is pretty sparse," Mr McGorman said.
"It was a bit of a risk, but with good rain and more forecast we thought it was worth a shot."
Mr McGorman said he'd be willing to try it again next year, but would likely stick to French millet above anything else.
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COVER CROPS USED FOR SOIL HEALTH OUTCOMES
After having pasture on a paddock for the previous four years, Mount Bryan's John Quinn is using a summer cover crop of sorghum, millet, forage brassica and sunflowers to break up soil compaction and cycle carbon.
In smaller holding paddocks he has put in the aforementioned crops plus buckwheat, red clover, safflower, forage brassica, tillage radish and lucerne.
"Livestock feed is a bonus if conditions allow but it's mainly for soil health and needs to fit in our rotation," Mr Quinn said.
"The paddock I sowed this year was pasture for the previous four years and I'm looking to put it back into cropping.
"With the wet November it gave me a chance to put in a summer cover crop and hope the roots of the plants would break up the compaction in the soil and also cycle some carbon and nutrients.
"This year's summer crop will go into a winter cover crop and provide plenty of grazing. If I get a good weed cleanup or not will determine if I go into a cereal the following year."
Mr Quinn had 50mm prior to sowing in mid-November and another 75mm before the crop emerged, but it has been dry since.
"They came up really well, but they are looking pretty thirsty now," he said.
"If it's going to turn into a grazing situation we'll need another storm to come over."
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