BEATING WET AT 'WINDY'
Torential rain threatened to devastate the summer cropping prgram at Windy Station scarcely weeks after it started but some tactical decision making ensured all was not loast.
Windy Station copped more than 200 millimetres during November, bringing winter crop harvest and sowing to a halt. Like many farmers in recent years, 'Windy' had converted to precision disc planting, in this case using a John Deere Maximerge. While this has given greater planting accuracy overall, it did leave manager, Keith Harris, in a dilemma when the heavens opened up.
"Given the very wet conditions the discs became blocked with mud," he said. "Our ideal planting window could have been missed altogether unless something was done."
'Windy' management prides itself on no-till farming and conserving soil moisture but stubble, even when slashed, can make life a little tricky. "Unfortunately at times thick stubble and wet muddy conditions can be a very difficult combination to handle," said Mr Harris.
Instead a tyned Morris Contour Drill Seeder, normally reserved for the wheat program was used, sacrificing some seed placement accuracy and slightly uneven plant population to achieve the all-important timely sowing.
Farming manager, Peter Winton, said the results spoke for themselves. The new contour drill is definately their preferred winter crop planter designed to sow cereals on 450 millimetre rows, however, with the flick of a switch in the tractor the planter converts to a 900mm planter with a straight tyne and press whel suitable for summer crops planting into heavy stubble.
SAVVY SAVES SEASON
A strict management regime has reaped dividends for the Romani Pastoral Company in a tricky season at Windy Station, a mixed farming operation at the southern end of the Liverpool Plains.
The property's 1500 hectares of sunflowers went close to three tonnes ahectare while sorghum is yielding close to seven tonnes a hectare, despite heavy rain during sowing and 40 degree heat in January. The success at 'Windy' can largely be attributed to shrewd planning under property manager, Keith Harris.
Before sowing had started Mr Harris had considered what had to happen at harvest. With plans to grow 3000ha of sorghum like the year before it had been calculated harvest would take between six and eight weeks allowing for rain disruption. With this in mind staff knew the last of their sorghum had to be planted by mid-December to enable it to emerge fully, set head, grain fill and dry before harvest started in late March.
Meanwhile, sunflower sowing is timed to ensure flowering does not happen during the peak heat of late January and early February. Considering these factors the aim is to plant sunflowers in early September and sorghum as soon as soil temperatures hit 16 degrees Celsius.
Farming manager, Peter Winton, said it was all a delicate balancing act. "I just don't like planting anything beyond late-December, as frost can start to become as issue with sunflowers, nearing harvest," he said.
Right on schedule, sunflower planting began on September 2 through to September 22. This enabled sorghum planting to start on October 26.
However, substantial rain interrupted sowing during the latter half of November meaning it could not be completed until December 11, which was still within their window though. A second crop of sunflowers was planted on 'Windy' from December 17 to 24.
Mr Winton wondered if either the early planted sunflowers or sorghum would ever emerge, given the much cooler conditions experienced in late October, early November. "It was just a terrible early season," he said.
Fortunately they did emerge and developed well, surviving the extreme heat of late January. The early sunflowers yielded 2.8t/ha on average, however, Mr Harris said the oil content failed to earn a premium, although Cargill hadn't discounted the price.
The December-plant sunflowers are expected to make similar yields despite the hot end to January. Some timely rain in late-February (90mm) and March (30mm) helped in this regard and also boosted the potential of the later-sown sorghum.
"They were starting to struggle a bit with 40 degree heat but that rain came right on time," Mr Harris said.
This week 'Windy' staff were only a quarter of the way through the sorghum harvest as Mr Harris said moist, easterly winds had drawn out the drying stage and slowed work. "The coler weather in March has certainly seen the crop end a bit softer and despite it being well below the 9.3t/ha average in 2008, this year crop is still very good," Mr Harris said.
Prices have proved a little softer too. A year ago growers welcomed $300/1 on farm after a number of tough seasons but in 2009 the picture is significantly different. With a glut of feed grain on the market - due primarily to downgrading of weather damaged winter cereals - growers have been lucky to snare $180/t on farm.
Driving returns even lower has been the steeper cost of fertiliser, fuel, herbicides and pesticides. Input prices were near record highs at the end of 2008 when the summer crop was planted on 'Windy' which has strangled gross margins.
"At least this season's higher yields will partially compensate for those much higher imput costs," Mr Harris said.
To keep those fertiliser costs to a minimum the cropping history of different paddocks was carefully considered. The resultant applications varied between 100 units of nitrogen at planting and as much as 130 units for those plots more intensively farmed.
Paddocks going back to back sorghum following the record 2008 crops recieved the higher fertiliser rates. Seeding rates were determined by soil moisture; in the drier areas this was only 35,000 to 40,000 plants a hectare but up to 50,000 on the good fallows. "We came into planting with a reasonable profile but it certainly wasn't full," Mr Harris said.
The other vital aspect to be considered at planting was marketting. Mr Harris siad 'Windy' conservatively forward sold between 30 and 40 percent of the expected 5.5t/ha crop.
However, by the time they meet their contract it will only represent 25pc of this year's "very good" crop.
Mr Harris revealed that, with a bit of luck, he had managed to sell some sorghum at more than $300 a tonne in June 2008, however, most of the grain is being sold directly off the headers.
Sunflowers were forward solf for $700/t delivered Newcastle back at planting, with the Cargill price now softer by $100/t.
"Marketting options for sunflowers are limited with minimal buyers in the crushing oilseed market," Mr Harris said.