October 30, 2023

Victoria, Australia, to produce 5.9 million tonnes of wheat in 2023

 

 

Victoria, Australia, is forecast to produce 5.9 million tonnes of wheat this year, according to estimates from the Grain Industry Association of Victoria (GIAV) annual crop tour.

 

Sponsored by Ridley AgriProducts, the tour took place October 11-12, with crop scouts travelling in nine vehicles. They inspected crops in New South Wales between the Murrumbidgee River and the Victorian border, and in Victoria's key cropping districts in the Mallee and Wimmera, as well as some of the state's northern and western districts.

 

"After floods clipped the number of paddocks, we were able to assess last year, the 2023 tour provided a great opportunity to cover more ground and get a better view of how the crop is looking," GIAV secretary Colin Peace said.

 

Conditions since the tour may have further impacted yields.

 

Using Digital Agriculture Services' estimate for area, the GIAV estimate of 5.95 million tonnes of wheat is up around 50,000 tonnes on last year's figure.

 

The average yield of wheat estimated from the Victorian harvest now just getting started is 3.95 tonnes per hectare, up 1% from 3.91 tonnes/ha in 2022.

 

The biggest drops in estimated yield overall year-on-year have occurred in the two NSW districts, Murray and Riverina, down 26% and 47% respectively.

 

Tour notes said a crop inspected at Euberta, north of Wagga Wagga, missed the early October rains and large cracks were showing in the paddock, and yield was estimated at 2.7 tonnes/ha.

 

North Central Victoria, one of Victoria's regions where yield and area were hit hard last year by flooding last year, is estimated to see a 14% rise in yield to 4.21 tonnes/ha.

 

- Grain Central