High quality wheat scarce as harvest starts

As harvest starts in Victoria, widespread stripe rust means high quality wheat will be at a premium.

Mixed farmer Jon Whykes is one of many in the Charlton region who have watched mounting yield losses chip away at what had looked to be a fantastic cropping season.

On his 4000ha property at Wooroonook, in Victoria’s Mallee, Mr Whykes said he had lost 50 per cent of his lentils to waterlogging, won’t harvest any hay this year, and was now contending with stripe rust through his cereal crops.

Jon Whykes of Wooroonook.

“It has been wet, humid, moist. If you wanted to set up a stripe rust production facility it would be been a good year for it,” he said.

Mr Whykes said he would be unlikely to harvest any high grade wheat this year and he was unlikely to be alone.

As harvest kicks off in Victoria, stripe rust has been reported across the Victorian Mallee and Wimmera and through southern NSW.

Jon Whykes pictured with dog Cleo. Picture: Andy Rogers

Wet conditions had given the fungus an “accelerated start” in Mr Whykes’ crop over summer, and saturated paddocks made it difficult to access crops to spray fungicide when needed, he said.

As of Monday, the first loads of grain had slowly started to trickle in to GrainCorp silos in Victoria, with 16,400 tonnes delivered to date.

According to GrainCorp, “a wide range of quality and grades” had been received, including “good quantities” of milling wheat.