July 24, 2007

 

Recent rains encourage Western Australia's wheat growers
 

 

Wheat growers in parched areas of Western Australia's north-east grain belt have taken heart from some rains in the past week and look forward to more in the coming days, they said Tuesday (Jul 24).

 

The rain has not been heavy enough to bump a total winter grain production forecast by logistics concern Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd., or CBH, above a current 5 million to 9 million tonnes range, but it has certainly bolstered the outlook, a spokeswoman said.

 

Many in the industry feared crops in these vast wheat lands of Western Australia would be wasted by a second year of drought, limiting national production and reducing export availability.

 

The state's actual output in the drought-affected previous crop year ending Mar 31 was about 6.2 million tonnes, barely 40 percent of peak production of almost 15 million tonnes in 2003/04. About 70 percent of state grain output is usually wheat, nearly all of which is available for export.

 

But growers in Western Australia and particularly in these potentially marginal areas in the north-east have with modern growing technologies, turned growing wheat on minimal moisture into an art form. Typically, growing areas closer to the south and lower west coasts are more reliable.

 

It is, they say, way too early to write the crop off yet.

 

Moreover, the government's Bureau of Meteorology forecasts rain at various times over the next four days over the state's wheat lands.

 

Ben Beckingham, who has planted 1,400 hectares of wheat and 200 hectares of barley with father Len near the small settlement of Wialki near the north-east margin of the wheat belt, 350 kilometres from Perth, said a total of 15 millimetres of rain has fallen in the past five days.

 

As a result, "the ground is quite wet at the moment" and crops "are looking all right," particularly those sown after some planting rains fell in late April, which look "really good," he said.

 

"We definitely won't be getting an average year because we haven't had enough rain," but with a few decent rains from here on, we could at least get a below-average crop, he said.

 

Meanwhile, Garth Kowald, who farms with his son Murray near Mullewa, 100 kilometres east of Geraldton port and 400 kilometres north of Perth city, said with some regular rains, his 1,600 hectares of crops could make an average but not a bumper yield.

 

Kowald's farm received 25 millimetres of rain since Friday (Jul 20), building on 40 millimetres in 10 days to early July, he said.

 

The outlook for his crops - mostly wheat and with some oats and lupins, all of which have germinated - has lifted in the past week, he added.

 

Kowald warned that sometimes, marginal areas further north are dry.

 

Western Australia typically accounts for 40 percent or more of national wheat production.

 

An official forecast in June put national output at about 22.5 million tonnes this crop year, of which about 6 million tonnes would be used domestically, leaving the balance available for export.