June 10, 2008

 

Eastern Australia's wheat farms face good year on rain

 
 

Strong prospects have emerged for Australia's winter crops, including wheat, in northern areas of New South Wales and southern Queensland following widespread rains in June that will help in sowing.

 

Meredith King, a field merchant with Australian Grain Accumulation Pty Ltd., Tuesday (June 10, 2008) made the observations on an improved outlook for crops on the Liverpool Plains in northern New South Wales.

 

Her comments can apply to adjoining areas, which produce some of the highest-yielding, highest-protein wheat in Australia, as all have experienced similar weather conditions.

 

"With the promising start to the winter cereal crop, planting into a full profile of moisture compared to last year, 2008 has the potential to be a very successful year for the industry on the plains," King said in a weekly report from the company, a joint venture of GrainCorp. Ltd. (GNC.AU) and Cargill Australia Ltd.

 

The favourable season in the region likely supports production forecasts for the country's winter crops. Estimates for national wheat production in 2008 are mostly in a range of 23 million and 27 million tonnes. Last year's crop was 13 million tonnes amid extensive droughts.

 

King said the past 10 days has brought some timely rain across the Liverpool Plains and after the soil dries a little, all winter crops likely will be planted into a full soil moisture profile.

 

Many areas received rains in a range 25 millimetres to 50 millimetres in the week-ended early Monday, according to data supplied by the government's Bureau of Meteorology.

 

The government's Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics will update its production and planting estimates for new winter crops in a report scheduled to be issued June 17.

 

Apart from some concerns over moisture at the end of the summer crop, the past six months have been kind to growers on the Liverpool Plains, King said.

 

The harvest of the summer sorghum crop on the plains continues to be a stop-start affair, with rain causing delays and continual cloud cover over the past week keeping crops damp, she said.

 

As a result, it could be a while before the last of the sorghum is harvested with driers to be kept busy for a few weeks yet, she said.

 

Crop yields remain high, with growers still achieving a relatively high 8 to 9 tonnes a hectare, which is being sold on farm at around AUS$250/tonne (US$1.053 ), she said.

 

Australia consumes about 7 million tonnes of wheat annually. The remaining output is exported, usually making the country a major supplier to the global wheat trade.