Wheat yields impress while protein falls short

Wheat yields of up to six tonnes a hectare are being widely celebrated across southern NSW and Victoria, but the protein content is falling short.

Farmers are celebrating high yields for wheat crops, yet the protein content is falling short at the silo.

The Australian Prime Hard grade wheat must have a minimum of 13 per cent protein.

Many farmers had pinned their hopes on wheat making this grade because it was of good quality. However, protein has generally been down.

On the flip side, people are optimistic about yields, with 3.5 tonnes to 6 tonnes a hectare recorded throughout southern NSW and Victoria.

David and John Ferrier with Lotty the Golden Retriever. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Birchip Cropping Group chairman John Ferrier said it’s easy to look back at the season in hindsight and consider inputs or the urea shortage.

“People had to ask themselves if they wanted to feed the crop a supply of nitrogen, and at the time, it was looking like a dry season,” he said.

“In hindsight, there are crops that would have benefited from (more) urea during the growing season,” he said.

Mr Ferrier said Australian Standard White Wheat was trading at around $334 a tonne. The next grade up means an additional $20 to $30 a tonne.

“It isn’t too bad, and even though the protein is down, we are seeing yields that are above expectation … I’m not unhappy with our yields,” he said.

At the Nullawil depot ASW1 is making $328.75 a tonne, APW1 $361.50 a tonne, H2 $386.50 a tonne and MA1, $310 a tonne.

Mr Ferrier said yields ranged from 3.5 tonnes/ha to 5 tonnes/ha in his area.

The 30mm to 40mm of rain in early October helped boost wheat crop yields.

Chris Drum of Banyena. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Chris Drum of Banyena said he wasn’t sure if the lower protein was solely due to a lack of nitrogen.

“We got that early October rain, which gave us a lot of yield, but it stole our protein,” he said.

“I know people who have put a lot of urea on and still have low protein,” he said.

However, to hear of wheat crops yielding 6 tonnes/ha, Mr Drum said the volumes would make up for protein shortfalls.

He hoped to start harvesting wheat at his property by the end of the week. So far, he had completed the canola harvest, and most of the barley was harvested.

Northern NSW cropping farmer Oscar Pearse from Moree said he had heard of lower protein levels in wheat throughout the harvest in his region.

In his area he said both quality and yield were down.

“We had lower yields, but prices and marketing options were good this year,” he said.