April 13, 2010

Australia's NSW winter wheat sowings to decrease

Annual wheat sowing in New South Wales (NSW) is expected to be down compared to last year, as more farmers switch to higher-priced crops.

State Industry & Investment department pulses and oilseeds expert Don McCaffery said 2.84 million hectares of wheat are expected to be sowed in 2010, down 8% from last year's estimate of 3.1 million hectares.

"It appears that some growers are moving from wheat to alternative pulse and oilseed crops due to the price outlook for wheat," he said in a statement.

Overall, the estimate for the state's winter crops is 4.9 million hectares, made up of 4.12 million hectares of cereals and 810,000 hectaers of pulses and oilseeds.

Rapeseed sowings are predicted to increase by 26% to around 292,000 hectares while pulses are forecast to rise by 25% to almost 519,000 hectares.

McCaffery also said summer crop harvest estimates, excluding rice, were down overall. "The harvest of summer crops is progressing well, with variable yields a result of variable summer growing conditions," he said.