Harvest hopes for lentils

Lentils are emerging as a profitable cash crop for the 2023 winter season, with prices up after a washout year in 2022.

Lentils are emerging as the shining light of cash crops for the 2023 winter season, with prices nudging $1000 a tonne compared to $710 a tonne this time last year.

Lentil prices have trended higher this season and have dropped back to $970 this week, yet there are good harvest prospects for farmers with the crop in their rotation.

In December last year, major purchasing country India extended the zero-tariff on lentils until March 31, 2024.

As a result, prices have tracked along steadily for lentils, and in addition, growers are hoping for better yields this year to make up for downgrades last year.

Manangatang farmer Rick Plant has 760ha of lentils in the ground this year and has been growing the crop for about seven years.

“We are about 2½ weeks away from harvesting, and they look clean and are better than last year,” Mr Plant said.

He expected the crop to yield 1 tonne/ha to 1.5 tonnes/ha but said lentils were difficult to gauge until harvest.

“Last year, a lot of the lentils from our area were downgraded because of the wet spring,” he said.

Lentil harvesting in Victoria. Picture: Zoe Phillips

In addition to lentils, Mr Plant also grows wheat, barley, field peas and vetch.

Fellow lentil grower, Chris Delahunty of Murtoa said the pulse crop also looked good in his area.

Aside from some slug activity earlier in the year, it has been a good season for lentils.

“The lentil price is really strong this season; prices are trending at above $900 a tonne locally,” he said.

Lentils account for 25 per cent of the cropping mix and help provide a cash crop option, weed control and incorporated nitrogen back into the soil.

“We are gradually increasing our area of lentils each year,” he said.

“We had 110mm of rainfall back in June, and some of the area was washed out, but it was nothing like the (wet) in spring last year,” he said.

Mr Delahunty hoped to see 2.5 tonnes/ha yields at harvest, boosted by handy in-crop rainfall of 280mm since April.