More rain over spring will ensure Victorian crops finish strong

Grain yields in Victoria are expected to lift on last year. Here’s how crops are tracking across the state.

Crop watch: Crops across Victoria are looking for some rain in spring to finish them.

SOLID rain last month gave life to crops across Victoria after a drier than average winter, but more is needed throughout spring to secure grain growers’ confidence.

In the Mallee, Ouyen grain grower Jarrod Munro said his barley was looking promising but more rain would assure quality.

“We had good rain through August and the barley is flowering now, but we could do with a bit more rain to assure grain quality,” Mr Munro said.

“Wheat definitely needs rain as well as legumes, lupins and lentils which need big rains to finish.”

But rain coming over the month would be a “catch 22” for Mr Munro, who also produces hay.

“Three weeks without rain will be good for hay but three weeks without rain for grain will mean crops will suffer significantly,” he said.

For the Western District, the dry winter was a blessing for crops, which were spared water logging.

“We are pretty fortunate here with crops. We had a pretty dry winter which meant crops weren’t water-logged,” Gorst Rural agronomist Cam Conboy said.

But Mr Conboy said there were some large crops with a big biomass in the area, and they would need some more spring rain.

Frosts were also keeping growers wary, concerned about a repeat of 2017 damage.

“We want to avoid frosts around Melbourne Cup day which we experienced in 2017,” he said.

“We have had a run with frosts this year in a drier winter which did slow them down. We have massive potential at the moment but it will come down to spring.”

Rain would also be welcomed by Wimmera grower Rodney Pohlner, at Glenlee, who is happy with how his crops are tracking, but he would “love to see some decent rain” this month.

“Sowing was good as we had a great break which is unusual and put confidence into our thinking,” Mr Pohlner said.

“Then it dried off a little for winter.”

He said he received good average rain in April, but May levels were below average, with July well below average.

“We have more rain at this point than last year but we have no stored soil moisture,” he said.

Meanwhile a crop report released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics indicated rainfall this month and in October was expected to be average to above average in most cropping regions in the state.

ABARES expects winter crop production in Victoria to lift by 6 per cent in 2020–21 to about 7.9 million tonnes.

MORE: MORE RAIN IS A BOON FOR HAY

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