wheatbelt Archives

WA could be on track for record-breaking crop production

04/10/2018

WA looks to be on track for record-breaking harvest if current weather conditions across much of the grainbelt continue.

First crop production estimates were recently released by the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA) for 2018 – WA is predicted to produce more than 15.5 million tonnes of grain and 9.9mt of wheat.

This would leave Western Australia accounting for almost half of the total national wheat crop as the Eastern States continue to go through a severe drought.

James Maxwell, Australian Crop Forecasters analyst, had this to say:

“The big drop has obviously come in Queensland and New South Wales – in Queensland we’ve only got half a million tonnes while New South Wales is at 3.4mt and that has potential to drop further. WA is looking very close, if not more than half of the wheat crop at the moment.”

WA looks set to also have solid seasons with barley and canola – the only state headed for an above-average season.

Steady rain and high commodity prices have set up WA for a successful year but GIWA report author Michael Lamond warns that frost and heat stress could impact how the season played out.

“The growing season for the majority of the State has been near perfect so fat with crops ahead of where they would normally be with a late May break to the season.” Mr Lamond said.

He continues:

“The only downside to this may be the susceptibility to heat stress if crops are exposed to sudden hot weather… The frost risk to crops is generally considered to be less than it was in 2016 – even though crops have moved along quickly this year, they are still behind in growth stage to date from where they were in 2016.”

Kwinana leading the way

In terms of production, Kwinana is predicted to produce more than 8.1mt of grain this season – a quarter of the national wheat crop.

GIWA report that Kwinana crop growth was exceptional even with late May break – cereals being the standout crop.

Most of the zone has benefited from steady rainfall and warm temperatures. Although some areas are suffering from sclerotinia in canola and waterlogged paddocks, most areas are on track for an above-average season.

Source: Farm Weekly

Mr Lamond spoke about low crop growth areas:

“The very poor area of crop growth are now confined to the eastern portions of the (Southern Albany) zone”.

The Esperance zone has experienced a change of gears compared to previous record-breaking seasons and was “shaping up for just an average year”.

Overall, “Most growers are now confident close to average yields will be achieved if the season does not cut out early.

Strong mung bean season thanks to demand from China and Vietnam

23/08/2018

A strong mung bean season in Australia has paved the way for crops to get close to average yields.

Thanks to strong demand from China and Vietnam, mung bean prices have avoided the India-inspired slump that hit the rest of the pulse market.

Mark Schmidt, Australian Mungbean Association president, said there would be an estimated total production between 80, 90,000 tonnes now that harvest has finished.

This is above the five-year average to 2016 of 76,000 tonnes.

Mark Schmidt says:

“The production could have been higher given the better opening rain, but it has not been a bad season for mung bean growers.”

“Most growers have had better than average quality and the price went up towards the end of the season which is a good thing both for this crop.”

Mr Schmidt said the prices for legumes have increased even with India taking less than 5 percent of total exports this year. Typically, India accounts for between 30-50 percent of Australia’s mungbean exports.

“We have been lucky there have been production shortfalls in places like Vietnam and China and they are looking for imports.”

Image source: mungbean.org.au/

Strong demand in China and Vietnam

Much different to other pulse crops, where India and other destinations command the market, Mr Schmidt said there was a high East Asian demand for mungbeans which were used to make products including cellophane noodles, treasured in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking.

Demand from Vietnam and China has helped push the prices for top quality, processing mungbeans to around $1250 a tonne, while manufacturing grade beans are currently selling for around $1050/t.

“Prices have risen around $150/t since the crop was planted,” Mr Schmidt said.

According to Wayne Newton, AgForce grains section president, growers were reporting a higher percentage than usual of top quality beans thanks to a drier season.

“It’s good that we have the chance to access high-value markets and yields, generally between two to three tonnes a hectare, were not too bad in the end either.”

Mr Schmidt said most of this year’s mungbeans had been sold.

“There is not a lot in surplus which is a good sign for pricing for next season.”

Read our recent post on ‘Optimising Mungbean Yields’ project which is set to better predict what determines mungbean yield in Australia.

Delayed Lupin flowering important to increase yield.

19/07/2018

UWA postgraduate student, Candy Taylor, recently delivered her thesis on lupin flowering times at the University of WA’s Frontiers in Agriculture showcase.

During the presentation, Ms Taylor highlights that Australia accounts for 51% of the global 1.3 million tonnes of Lupin production. And Western Australia produces a staggering 70 – 80% of Australia’s lupins.

Lupins tend to flourish in the Northern Wheatbelt thanks to the short seasons. Because of the Lupins early flowering time, parts of WA don’t capitalise on later season rains which are perfect for lupin crop.

Image source: www.freenatureimages.eu

Ms Taylor has concluded that by delaying the flowering time of a narrowed leaf lupin for 22 days, you could increase yield by up to 16%.

Whereas, the best delay of flowering for high rainfall areas to boost yield is 18 days.

Click here to learn how our RHIZO-ID kits can help increase your legume yield.