Harvest 2020 expected to begin soon with warm weather forecast for southeast Australia
With the mercury tipped to nudge 40 degrees in some parts of Victoria and NSW this week, the smell of harvest is in the air.
HARVEST across southeast Australia is expected to ramp up soon as forecast warm conditions this week assists in finishing crops.
The mercury is tipped to nudge 40C in parts of Victoria and southern NSW on Sunday following warm temperatures at the start of this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology has tipped Mildura in Mallee and Wentworth across the Murray River in southern NSW to hit 39C on Sunday following forecasts of 36C today and 34C tomorrow. Ivanhoe in the northern Riverina is forecast to hit 38C on Sunday with Hay and Ouyen both going for 37C, Swan Hill and Griffith expecting to hit 36C, and Birchip, Deniliquin and Kerang each forecast to top 35C.
It follows a fairly dry and warm week for most grain growing districts with temperatures hovering in the mid-30s Walepup across parts of the Mallee and northern Wimmera.
Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said harvest of early crops was expected to begin in earnest across the Wimmera and Mallee in the next week depending how farmers fared from some forecast storms today.
“Most people have finished windrowing and waiting for this rain to go through and then get stuck into things starting with barley and lentils and then on to canola,” Mr Jochinke said.
Emerald Grain southeast Australia regional manager Brad Cullen said barley harvest in the Mallee was about 30-40 per cent complete, with the Wimmera about 5 per cent done.
“At our site at Woorinen we’ve had four or five growers finish up their barley already and start to think about doing something else but they are probably still a week away from starting wheat,” Mr Cullen said.
“(In the Wimmera) areas around Rupanyup are only starting to windrow (canola) now so there are still 10 days to two weeks away from getting into canola.”
In southern NSW, Mr Cullen said barley crops around Coolamon, north of Wagga Wagga, were only just starting to be harvested while around Goolgowi, near Griffith, about 20 per cent of Emerald’s receivals so far had been wheat with barley “still hanging in”. “Barley out that way is just incredible – one guy reported six tonnes a hectare yields dryland but on average crops have been yielding at least 3.5 tonnes/ha,” he said.
The biggest rain totals in the past week were in the east of the state with Mallacoota picking up 23mm in the seven days to 9am yesterday followed by Bruthen (15mm), Erica (14mm), Gelantipy and Orbost (13mm), Jindivick (11mm) and Ensay and Omeo (10mm).
In southern NSW, Goulburn recorded 40mm, Gunning 34mm, Khancoban 17mm, Bombala 15mm, Burrinjuck Dam and Cooma 14mm, and Cabramurra and Cowra 12mm.
Looking ahead, parts of the Western District, Wimmera, Mallee, northern Victoria and the North East can expect upwards of 15mm in the next week with most of the rest of the state on track for at least 5mm.
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