Irrigated canola a promising prospect in NW Vic

A wet start to the year meant Jayson Butcher was able to sow canola in Victoria’s normally dry north west, with promising results.

A wet start to the year gave Jayson Butcher the confidence to sow canola in Victoria’s normally dry north west, and he is “pretty excited” about the crop’s potential.

This year, Mr Butcher is growing 60ha of irrigated canola at Merbein South, and it is already in flower, along with 440ha of dryland canola. He is also growing 270ha of dryland barley, and 1300ha of dryland wheat.

Mr Butcher said while canola hadn’t been too successful around Mildura in the past, “this year, because we’ve had so much early rain to fill the (soil) profile I decided to sow (irrigated canola), as well as some dryland stuff.”

Since March, he has had a total of 325mm of rain across the property, which he farms as part of a sharefarming arrangement. The irrigation block has fared even better, with 425mm since March.

“We were really lucky with those early storms, and to have the ability to turn the tap on is a huge advantage,” he said.

Jason Butcher surveys his irrigated canola at Merbein South.

This is Mr Butcher’s second year growing canola under irrigation, and it is “shaping up to be better than last year”, he said.

With canola prices hovering around $700 per tonne, this season promises a rare combination of high prices and high yields.

“I’m pretty excited about where the prices are with the potential yields that we’re seeing,” he said.

His irrigated canola last year yielded two tonnes per hectare in an area irrigated by overhead sprinklers. A flood irrigated area yielded four tonnes per hectare.

Taking what he learnt from last year’s crop, Mr Butcher said he will be running his sprinklers for longer and more often to improve yields.

He is keeping a wary eye on frosts for the remainder of the season, but so far temperatures have been mild and the plants haven’t suffered any frost damage.