Kyabram South summer crops farmer embraces the heat

Ian Hamono from Kyabram South is welcoming the heat, saying his corn crops love it.

One farmer welcoming the hot temperatures and lack of rainfall this week is Ian Hamono from Kyabram South.

“For summer crops, we welcome the heat; it is great except when you are working in it,” Ian said.

He has 250ha of corn that is going “spectacularly well” and could benefit as temperatures push towards 40C in his area this week.

The Pioneer P131-IT is a dual-purpose variety. However, Ian said, based on past experience, it would most likely go into the stock feed market rather than human consumption.

“It is going well, (but) up until now, it hasn’t been a good season for corn because of the cool nights,” he said.

But this week is perfect.

“Corn loves heat. The crop is loving the conditions this week,” he said.

However, another cool change was tipped midweek.

“It’s 36C here today (Monday), and we would like to see it stay at this,” he said.

“We are supposedly getting some 40C days, but we need a few in a row of more than 36C,” he said.

Summer cropping farmers welcome the run of hot weather. Ian Hamono is pictured at Kyabram South with his sunflowers. Picture: Zoe Phillips.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology temperatures in the area could dip as low as 23C on Tuesday evening and then 17C on Wednesday, with daytime temperatures ranging from 33C to 39C.

“There was a time when this area would get three or four weeks of temperatures of more than 38C,” he said.

The corn is being irrigated under a centre pivot, and ideally, Ian said they didn’t want summer rain.

“I would prefer it if there was no rain between November and March,” he said.

Rain that does fall in those months can generate some soil moisture but also produce more weeds.

For the first time Ian has tried his hand at growing sunflowers with 25ha planted under irrigation.

“They are looking good,” he said.

“We had been looking for another summer crop option, and it will be interesting to see how they go,” he said.

The sunflowers were likely to end up in the birdseed market in Adelaide.

In addition to the summer crops, Ian grows a winter cropping program, including wheat, canola and faba beans.