The calendar of operations for our Australian farm in 2017 was challenged every month by weather. I would like to say it was abnormal, but I would only be kidding myself with such a comment.

I visited Ireland in early September last and experienced a lot of your rain in the west of Ireland. If only that could be shared more equitably around the globe.

Our property is about 9,000ac and is in the northern Riverina region of New South Wales. This is roughly 300 miles from both Sydney and Melbourne. Average rainfall is close to 400mm per year. The main grain crops we grow are wheat, barley, canola and field peas for grain. Our fodder crops include vetch for hay production and a lucerne mix for pasture for Merino lamb trading.

The system is based upon a 12m controlled traffic programme. This means all my equipment is in multiples of 12m (12m cultivator/seeding, 12m harvester, 36m boom sprayer etc).

All equipment, where possible, has tyres/tracks on 3m wheel spacing, with RTK (<2cm) GPS guidance.

Average grain yields in our region hover around 2.5t/ha for wheat, with significant seasonal variability. This is mainly due to the volatility of our climate, with rainfall the key variable.

The 2017 harvest was completed in early December (the equivalent of June for you guys) and it wasn’t great, with below average yields.

While there was a lack of rainfall at important times during the growing season, the major yield hit resulted from severe frost early in the season. There were several days when the temperature fell below -5°C at critical times of crop development.

Damaged stems

The frost events affected the stems and ears of the growing cereal plants and the flowers and early pods on our canola. Moisture was also a limiting factor around the same times.

Fortunately we received useful late rain during crop maturity and this assured the quality of our grain. For us, that means good protein levels, typically in excess of 13%, and very low screenings in our cereals.

We have an area characterised by Mallee Eucalyptus trees, where the soil is typically sandy loam in nature. When this is cultivated it can easily become a fine red dust which has the ability to penetrate all things … bearings, computers, ears, nose, eyes etc.

Low organic matter

This forms the basis for my reluctance to cultivate in our region. The typical cropping programme is characterised by a single pass of the seeding machine, with no further cultivation. The soil is low in organic matter and soil cover is a fundamental principle of both protecting soil from erosion and attempting to build organic matter.

In our sheep operation I am also very mindful to not over-graze. I also make use of a feedlot system to intensively feed livestock if I feel ground cover in our paddocks is being compromised.

It would be foolish of me to attempt to boast that the farming system in our area of Australia is more challenging than anywhere else in the world. This is because I know that all areas have unique challenges with nature.

For this reason it often just comes down to the mental fortitude of the manager to ‘cop it on the chin’ when mother nature decides that your best laid plans need an exponential tweak every now and again.

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Farmer Writes: infuriated by Department of Agriculture website