Harvest in the Mallee is a mixed bag this season

HARVEST is a mixed bag in the Mallee, with some areas so bad farmers will barely harvest a crop.

Greg Allen Harvesting Scope Barley at Lalbert West.

HARVEST is a mixed bag in the Mallee, with some areas so bad farmers will barely harvest a crop, while for others late rain saved the day.

At Ultima, west of Swan Hill, last week, Tony and Fiona Donohue, and Tony’s brother, Peter, were harvesting lentils.

Tony said they got 260mm of rain this season and were surprised how well his 5000ha of crops had turned out in a low rainfall year.

“We received two lots of 11mm in September,” he said. “If we hadn’t had that we wouldn’t be having the season we’ve got.”

Further south at Lalbert West, Greg Allen said small falls in spring also saved the day for his cropping operation.

Farmers at Nulawil, Wycheproof, Birchip and Donald are having a far worse season.

Harvest 2014-15