Japan-bound Arista harvest grows by the year

Arista wheat is becoming popular with farmers wanting to try something new, and comes with the added advantage of health benefits beyond its popularity on the Japanese market.

Arista has a high level of amylose which results in more ‘resistant’ starch, causing the product to act as a prebiotic due to it not being digested until it reaches the human colon.

The starch protects against the genetic damage which precedes bowel cancer and helps combat type 2 diabetes.

Six farmers in the north-east capitalised on missing most of last year’s spring rain to produce yields close to 5.5 tonnes/hectare.

Farm Trade Australia director David Matthews said all growers were “very pleased” with the season’s yield, despite Arista producing less grain per hectare than more common wheat varieties.

“We have had 18 farmers growing Arista this year across Victoria,” Mr Matthews said.

“The yield drag is compensated by the price gained but to get this (season’s) yield is still very good.”

Mr Matthews said the protein content in the crop was between 12.5 and 14 per cent, which is two per cent higher than the accepted minimum for the variety.

Victoria’s second shipment from the 2022 season will be sent to Japan by February to remove a relatively small carryover of 1000 tonnes.

The predicted increase in demand for Arista wheat has farmers hoping for a lucrative future.

“We are expecting exports to increase 10 times year-on-year,” Mr Matthews said.

“The variety is really only hitting the market about now as a recently released instant noodles product.”

Bruce Larcombe is an agronomist who works with farmers growing the variety around Dookie and said the season, which was still being harvested by one farmer last week, went “quite well”.

“Some farmers grow it because it is so different,” Mr Larcombe said.

“The yield might be a fair way behind on other varieties, such as Scepter, but that’s why there is a premium (price) on it.”

The market price for Arista is about 50 per cent higher than other varieties.

Mr Larcombe is known for his expertise in agronomy, helping farmers in managing all aspects of their crop, from variety selection, crop rotation and nutrition to pest and disease control.

“And summer weeds, which of course from the recent rain is massive now,” he said.

Dryland farmer Tony Ludeman grows a variety of grains on his sixth-generation family property, which he runs with brothers Chris and Steve and nephew Nathan, and decided to trial their first crop of Arista this summer.

Mr Ludeman said the input from Mr Larcombe was “more than” useful.

“The information he has is really good and his knowledge is unbelievable, especially with timing of things,” Mr Ludeman said.

“This is the first year we have grown Arista, so it is hard to know how it went, but, all things considered, it was pretty good.

“In terms of dollars per hectare it worked out quite well.

“We were already told that the variety produces about 20 per cent less than our current winter wheats, but we will definitely look at the numbers again next season and see what they are going to offer us as a price.”

Mr Ludeman said summer weed control was the next task for his farm.

“Yeah, we get off the headers and off the trucks and into the spray carts straight away.

“Summer weed control is paramount to production.”