Northern Victoria and southern Riverina suffered from a temperamental dry start this season — but this hasn't gotten in the way of Rabobank predicting a near-record winter crop planting driven by what the bank dubs “excellent prices and good seasonal conditions”.
In its 2021-22 winter crop outlook, Rabobank forecast the national winter crop will reach 22.93 million hectares.
This is up two per cent on last year and eight per cent on the five-year average.
Dookie farmer Allan Shields said the season was suffering from a very dry start in his area and the crops were suffering from uneven germination.
“We had 3 mm a few nights ago, but Shepparton got 20 mm and a guy I contracted had 15 mm,” Mr Shields said.
“What we need is a good soaking and a nice spring.”
Mr Shields sowed more than 800 ha with a combination of rye-grass, barley, wheat, fava beans and canola.
He said he didn’t increase his rotation of canola, despite the high price the commodity is fetching at the moment.
Rabobank grains and oilseeds analyst Dennis Voznesenski said substantial rainfall and good soil moisture profiles across many parts of the country have set Australian farmers up for another very strong winter grain crop.
“And with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a 60 to 75 per cent chance of the east coast and South Australia exceeding median rainfall for the next three months, this should set crops up well and have a positive impact on yields in those regions,” Mr Voznesenski said.
Parts of the country experiencing the best weather are Western Australia (thanks to Cyclone Seroja) and northern NSW.
South Australia and western Victoria have suffered the most with dry weather.
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