Recent rain in the Moree region has boosted summer cropping outlooks, although has made a sticky situation for growers gearing up for harvest.
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While harvest has kicked off around the region for early planted crops such as barley, McGregor Gourlay senior agronomist Scott Rogers said it’s been a staggered start due to the weather conditions and crop maturity.
Mr Rogers said rain had halted harvest for growers who had early planted crops ready to go and prolonged harvest for growers who were gearing up to start.
“The cool, wet weather has slowed down the speed crops are ripening,” he said.
Early planted crops haven’t benefitted from recent falls, but crops planted later in the season have received a boost from the moisture, especially later sown chickpeas.
Rain has also boosted prospects for more summer sowing this season, with some moisture profiles good enough to plant sorghum and dryland cotton.
“Cotton can be planted through until the end of November,” Mr Rogers said.
“Some growers haven’t had enough rain yet to plant but they’re getting close. Another one or two good falls and they’ll be able to plant.
“A few weeks ago a lot of growers were looking at no chance of getting a summer crop in.”
The rain has also been good news for irrigators who were having to pre-irrigate ahead of cotton planting.
“This rainfall allows them to plant in moisture and save their water for later in the season,” Mr Rogers said.
“Run-off into the rivers has also allowed a little bit of extra pumping for some growers.”
Harvest will be in full swing in the coming week, depending on rainfall over the weekend.
At this stage, Mr Rogers said yield potential is a “very mixed bag”.
“It’s very dependent on where the rain fell throughout winter,” he said.
“Some crops east are looking at 3.5 to 4 tonnes to the hectare, while west it’s anything from 0.5 to 1.5 tonnes to the hectare.”