A ‘very mixed’ season for farmers through the Wimmera and Mallee is testing crops, sheep feed

Farmers are selling light stock and hanging on for rain in much of the Wimmera where many crops and pastures are struggling.

Drought-weary farmers across the Wimmera are facing tough decisions as the poor season slashes crop yield potential, livestock weight gains and hopes for a profitable year.

The conditions are pushing stock to be sold earlier and reduced ram purchases throughout the district, as well as a reluctance to take up forward contract lamb prices.

Farmers and agents say this is not as much due to prices offered, but their lack of confidence in the ability to finish lambs at required weights.

Jilpanger farmers Jack and Sarah Pole, who farm with Jack’s mother Lynette, are some of hundreds facing tough calls as dry, then windy and frosty weather sap the potential from both crops and pastures.

As decent spring rains continue to fail to arrive, this week they have moved to sell off 336 light trade weight lambs in the Horsham market – expecting to receive around $70/head or more less than what they could get if they took them out to heavier weights.

The family normally produce 2000 lambs from their first-cross ewes and also run 100 Banquet Angus cows and about 720ha of crop.

AWN agent Wayne Driscoll with farmers Jack, Sarah and Lynette Pole, Jilpanger. Jack said this draft of 336 lambs would be sold at Horsham Wednesday, and a further two drafts of lambs may also be sold off at light weights if the season did not improve.

When The Weekly Times visited on Tuesday, the family were busy drafting and crutching lambs for sale the next day.

They drafted three ways, with one lot to head off on the truck that day, with the fate of two other drafts to be decided in coming weeks, depending on rain.

“It has been testing,” Jack said. “We fed hay until July.” That exhausted the family’s hay supplies.

“Crops were dry sown but took two months to get out of the ground, our canola is OK at the moment but yields will be down at least 50 per cent, wheat may be OK but beans, looks I just don’t know if we will get anything,” he said.

Lynette said light calves were sold early to look after the cows.

With about 40 per cent of the farm able to grow crops, running a mixed operation was essential for the family.

“I am glad we have a mixed enterprise because if we get a frost or hail here and it wipes us out at least we have the stock,” Jack said.

The Poles will now make weekly assessments as to when they sell off more stock, at lower weights, taking a profit hit.

“Its weekly, we will just have to see what happens in the next week or so,” Jack said.

Their agent, AWN’s Wayne Driscoll, said demand for rams had dropped sharply. “Some people don’t want any rams this year, either due to cost or they are not joining; a sale we had yesterday had a 25 per cent pass in rate,” he said.

Hay reserves were also “almost non-existent” in much of the Wimmera.

He said there was reluctance on behalf of farmers and agencies to lock in forward contracted lambs, not so much due to prices offered, but just a lack of ability to finish the animals to weight.

“We as a business are just not game to do it,” he said.

Crops throughout the Wimmera are patchy – some are close to failing, others are holding on well with potential remaining for good yields. If more rain arrives.

Murra Wurra farmer and National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said it was a very mixed season for farmers throughout the Wimmera and Mallee.

“There are areas that are a complete write-off due to frost, dry weather and horrific winds, but other parts did get establishment rainfall in April-May and some have outstanding crops for the season.”

Mr Jochinke said the fortunes of farmers varied greatly, with those lucky enough to “jag some rain at the right time” still in with a chance of achieving good to above average yields.

“It is extremely mixed and patchy,” he said.

On his own farm, Mr Jochinke said there was “still a chance of producing below average crops”.

“But we’re running out of time to be able to run the header over every paddock; we need rain this week.

“There are other parts that had rain that look like producing average or a bit above crops.”