AFTER this long dry a potential for croppers to cash-in on a quick growing crop between January and early April looks like a Godsend, especially if paddocks receive some moisture over summer.
Parkes-based buckwheat growers and exporters, Geoff Brown and Julie Brown, Okeford, Bindogundra, have just returned from another trip to Japan’s soba noodle festival and want to spread the word about soba and buckwheat.
“You can ask any Japanese person what their favourite food is, and there is a good chance they will say ‘soba noodles’,” Mr Brown said.
“Soba is made from the freshest buckwheat and there are some 70,000 outlets selling this inexpensive meal.:”
Mr Brown said Australia was in a prime position to supply buckwheat as our harvest is six-months after the northern hemisphere’s summer harvest.
“That’s why fresh Australian buckwheat commands a premium price if the quality is right,” he said.
The Brown’s Buckwheat Enterprises has been supplying the Japanese market since 1992.
“This year we are going to try and grow buckwheat ready to harvest by late-March to early April,” Mr Brown said.
“The optimum time to supply Japan is for ‘Golden Week’ which is in late April.
“The Japanese market can take 500 tonne at this time for the restaurant industry while the Australian market can use a similar quantity buy it doesn’t need to be from the early harvest.”
Depending on temperatures a buckwheat crop can take as little as 60 days from planting to harvest.
“Actually, the quicker growing crops can have the best quality seed for the Japanese market,” Mr Brown said.
“The longer seed is on the plant the more kernel discolouration can occur and it gets to a stage where seed sheds off the plant as quickly as they are being replaced, so quick harvest is very important.
“Buckwheat can handle high temperatures when young, but need mild temperatures at seed-fill. Plants need 1100 day degrees to produce a crop.
“That’s similar to a crop of catheads.”
In Parkes optimum sowing would be the third week of February as temperatures were usually too hot at seed fill to sow any earlier.
Mr Brown said croppers in the north of the state would do well to investigate the crop’s potential.
“In past years the earliest deliveries have always come from the north’s western parts of the New England and slopes., Buckwheat delivered to Parkes before April 15 is worth $1000/t on a clean seed basis.”
New “jade” is first self-pollinating variety
THERE have been a lot of changes in the gluten-free buckwheat industry since Geoff Brown first started growing the crop at Neville in 1984.
“Not knowing what it was used for, he used it as a paddock “clean-up” crop for annual grasses and weeds.
“No weeds can compete with a good stand of buckwheat,” he said.
“The real breakthrough was direct drilling technology and the new ‘self-pollinating’ jade variety. “Instead of using well fallowed and cultivated row spacings of 15 to 18 centimetres, today we get better results with direct drill tynes and press wheels in 25cm rows.”
Mr Brown said the jade variety was the first self-pollinated variety released in Australia.
“Jade has superior yield, grain size and kernel colour and Buckwheat Enterprises will be the first company in the world to start marketing it.
“It will remain true-to-type and we should be able to improve yields and quality over time with a Canadian-based plant breeder.”
Mr Brown said he started sowing at five grams per hectare three years ago and exported 150t to Japan this year.
“However, I would recommend sowing at 30kg/ha for an early direct drill crop, but later sowings should be at up to 50kg/ha.
“We have about 18t of seed for supply this year, but only supplying under contract to deliver back to us.”
Dollar returns of up to $1000/t can be gained from deliveries before April 15 next year, then prices drop to around $750/t after.
Mr Brown said that with the combination of direct drill and the new jade variety growers could expect yields as high as 2.5t/ha.
“But on good country with average rainfall 1.25t/ha is quite achievable.”
