IF THERE is one thing farmers have learnt through the years, it’s not to count on their crop until it’s harvested. But croppers who are able to save their canola rotation this year may be winners in the commodity stakes.
Last reports were of a return of $558 a tonne delivered Newcastle, however, it certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing for winter crops this season.
The record winter and spring rains had been welcomed, but the resulting flooding and waterlogging of paddocks, especially those with crops, have become a disaster for many. Mother nature has flung her fury at the state and nobody can guarantee a non-eventful harvest, so those with crop still to come off have their fingers crossed.
Predictions of an extra-large canola harvest have been revisited, with estimates now suggesting the overall yield of this year’s 500,000 hectare canola crop may come in at close to 1.5 tonnes a hectare.
NSW Department of Primary Industries technical specialist (pulses and oilseeds), Don McCaffery, Orange, said from his investigations state-wide of how the crop has fared through the inundation, he had recalculated a lower expected yield.
“It’s possible up to 10 per cent of the crop will not be harvested due to flooding, inundation or severe waterlogging,” he said.
“Bogging is another risk from seeps running out of sloping country through crop, which could still be wet come harvest. It’s going to be a massive challenge, but if it doesn’t rain too much more it will not be as bad as the 2010 harvest for the rest of the crop.”
Mr McCaffery said he felt the bulk within crops was not there this year compared to 2010 and part of that reason was because, in places, waterlogging reduced nitrogen use efficiency.
Sunshine or lack of it is another reason.
“This year the crop has had probably the lowest solar radiation in possibly 50 years,” he said. “Cloudy weather has done crops no favours and although winter temperatures were above average that was ruined because it was raining and cloudy most of the time.”
Still a guessing game on yields
THE remnants of a wet winter are left in a paddock where the wind-rower and tractor became bogged on Tom Whiteley’s property “Dunbell”, near Wellington, on Monday (also pictured left and on our cover).
Weather conditions were suitable to start harvesting 125 hectare crop of Nuseed Diamond canola used as a break crop in the Whiteley’s prime lamb enterprise.
“This is the first time we’ve grown Diamond and between 10 and 20 per cent of this paddock has been affected by sclerotinia, but we won’t know how the yield and oil have been affected until we harvest.”
“We didn’t apply a preventative fungicide so we are fairly relieved at the relatively small area of damage”, Mr Whiteley said. “We’d like to get 2t/ha, but as Anthony Stibbard from Ag n Vet Services says, it’s a guessing game at this time”.
The crop was sown with 80kg/ha of diammonium phosphate and 80kg/ha of granular ammonia then top-dressed with 70kg/ha of urea at the start of flowering.
