Dry sowing well underway at Pura Pura family farm

Summer spraying weeds has helped a Western District family to save some moisture and boost yields as they head into a dry start.

Nathan Blomeley at Pura Pura is 40 per cent through sowing.

Pura Pura’s Blomeley family are 40 per cent through their sowing after kicking off at the start of April.

Tim and Danielle, along with their sons and their wives, Nathan and Jessica, and Josh and Natalie, farm 2150ha as well as contract sow a further 800ha.

At Pura Pura in the Western District they have had a dry start. They’ve measured just 62mm of rain for the year so far, and 90mm in November-December last year, which has left a marginal amount of moisture in the top 30cm of the soil.

But Nathan said they could not hang about and wait for rain.

“We have just got to get moving to get it done,” he said.

He was still “cautiously optimistic” that a good break would arrive and said summer weed spraying had been vital to conserve moisture in dry years.

The dry start also allowed time to ensure drainage was right.

And, they were also using variable rate application of fertiliser and seed to deliver a more consistent germination and plant density.

The family were also pressing ahead with pasture renovations.

Nathan is “cautiously optimistic” that a good break will arrive.

The past two seasons have been good to the family’s cropping enterprise with 2023 producing a “phenomenal” result and even last year’s below average rain enough to produce yields just 5-10 per cent below average.

“We did have good rain in July, so that helped,” Nathan said.

“It has been profitable in the last few years, maybe not to the same level as the three or four before that when we had big yields and better prices, but it has still been reasonably profitable.”

Nathan said while they won’t cut back on fertiliser, due to concerns about the season, farmers across the district were generally a bit more conservative from a cashflow point of view after the tougher years.

The Blomeleys also run 2100 first-cross and maternal composite ewes, having moved away from Merinos and slightly lifting their sheep numbers.

“We have lost the wool cheque but think it is more efficient and we get more value in lambs,” he said.

“We all do need a bit more rain, so we’re hoping it isn’t too far away.”