The job is done! After 5 weeks of seeding around the clock, we have completed our program for 2020. Our seeding crew have been incredible, with their commitment and dedication allowing us to get the job done quickly and smoothly. We especially thank our seeder drivers Tim Rowe for taking on the night shift and Danny Luciani our day shift driver.

Thankfully, this year we have received the best start to season in over 20 years, recording about 4 inches (100mm) of rain over the past few months. This rain also brought up a significant germination of weeds, which allowed us to get good weed control before sowing. This will dramatically reduce our reliance on herbicide later in the season.

Due to a lack of stubble cover, we were unable to roll some of our barley and lentil crops for fear of wind erosion. With the crop emerging nicely, we can now get on to roll these paddocks to push under any stones which may cause us grief during harvest. The farm life wheels never stop turning (literally), so while sowing our last paddock of lentils this week we also begun our first application of urea on our early-sown wheat crops.

Hopefully this season’s conditions stay promising for farmers across the state and country, best of luck to those winding up seeding in the coming weeks and for the season ahead!

After one of the most challenging periods of drought, a devastating bushfire season & now dealing with the consequences of COVID-19, finally some rain has given us all a reason to smile.

Locally we have received three inches of rain for the month which is the best April break to the season in 20 years. Our seeding program kicked off in very dry conditions in mid-April. After our lowest rainfall season ever in 2019, our stubble cover was at its lowest levels in years. A lot of careful management to sow just off last year’s sowing row to keep the paddocks stabilised. Thankfully now the first sown crops are emerging and the heavy rainfall has washed down the salt in the coastal areas. We are seeing the most even crop emergence in years. With around 60% of our program sown we have taken the day off to recoup and let everyone catch up with their families. We are also seeing a huge germination of weeds, so we will take this opportunity to reduce the numbers which will ease the reliance on herbicide applications later in the season. Thankfully, the rainfall seems to have been widespread across most areas of the state.

Our thoughts go out to everyone dealing with immense challenges, with COVID-19 changing the way that workplaces and society functions across the country. To all the farmers that are continuing to work to feed the world during this challenging time, we wish you all safe seeding and good luck for the season ahead