- RELATED: Patchy start to canola sowing
HEAVY rains at the end of last month and high premiums have a Tullamore farmer optimistic about his first crop of canola this year.
Trent Usher, “Rosewood”, Tullamore, has dry sown 240 hectares of Victory canola in late April, after the AWB offered high premiums for the variety.
Entering only his third year of farming his two properties “Rosewood” and “Northstar”, Mr Usher said given the AWB premiums, he was confident that this season he could experiment with canola.
Also sowing 1618 hectares of wheat varieties Lancer, Gregory and Livingston, Mr Usher said he had little choice but to dry sow his first canola crop.
“I didn’t really have a choice, I had to get started with so many crops to sow, so I just had to make a start,” he said.
Although not forward selling his wheat, Mr Usher has however decided 50 per cent of his canola will be.
“The prices are right at the moment so I thought this was a good decision,” Mr Usher said.
He said he was traditionally a “wheat on wheat guy”, but this year he will begin to follow a crop rotation.
“I am putting in more hectares and although I am working in the mines as well, I have decided to get more serious about it,” Mr Usher said.
Recent heavy rains have raised moisture and added to an optimistic start for Mr Usher.
“After sowing, we had 60 millimetres, that was followed by more than 30mm; it’s a really good start and now the rain can back off for a while,” Mr Usher said.
