Chris Reichstein’s cropping farm considered one of the best in WA

NOTHING stands in the way of Chris Reichstein’s farming success.

Header up: Chris Reichstein on his property near Esperance in Western Australia. Picture: Corrina Ridgway

NOTHING stands in the way of Chris Reichstein’s farming success.

Farming on his own since 1993, Chris has experienced floods, fire and frost on his 4600-hectare property in the medium-rainfall Esperance district of Western Australia.

In those 25 years, he’s honed his practices using best-management techniques to the current stage where the farm, which grows wheat, barley, canola and field peas, is considered one of the best in the state.

It’s a far cry from the late 1970s when Chris’s family bought the original 2200-hectare block, which was gradually cleared of bush and, prior to the crash of the wool reserve price in the early 1990s, ran Merino sheep.

“Esperance was settled by farmers in the 1960s who were lured by the promise of cheaper land and opportunity,” Chris says.

“With that, there’s always been a strong undercurrent of risk-taking and progressive practice, which has led to early adoption of innovation in the area.”

Chris has adopted many innovative methods to maximise his crop yields, including the use of controlled traffic, precision and no-till agriculture, and direct drilling to minimise soil disruption and maximise precious moisture.

He regularly adds clays to his poorer soils, rotates chemicals regularly to help control weed resistance, and advocates weed seed control at harvest.

The result is wheat yielding 4.2 tonnes a hectare — an exceptional figure for Western Australia — and barley returning 4.3 tonnes a hectare.

Always eager to improve his operations, Chris fastidiously keeps track of the latest grains research and advocates for greater knowledge-sharing and learning among his peers and scientists.

As part of his recent Nuffield scholarship, he looked at ways to bridge the gap between researchers and farmers to improve performance.

Proof that this grain brain only has eyes for the future.

FINALIST Cropping Farmer of the Year 2018

CHRIS REICHSTEIN, Esperance, WA

ON FARM: CHRIS REICHSTEIN