ERRATIC rainfalls across the northwest of Victoria are still below long-term rainfall averages but local croppers are not hitting the panic button just yet.
Mildura’s average July rainfall is 24.5mm with only 3.6mm recorded so far.
It was 7mm down in June, with 15.6mm and 5.5mm short in May, with 19.4mm.
Ouyen has had 4.8mm for July, where the average is 30.1mm. June was down more than 10mm and May was 20mm short of the average.
Robinvale was 20mm short in May, 10mm short in June and has 4.8mm so far this month against an expected 30mm.
Mitch Henderson with parents Craig and Pauline, brother Ben, cousin John and their families, grow wheat, barley, lentils and oaten hay on properties across the Mallee and Wimmera.
They also rear poultry, using their wheat straw as bedding and then spreading it back onto paddocks as manure in a closed-loop system.
Mr Henderson said dry conditions through May put the operations about two weeks behind ideal sowing schedule but there’s not a lot wrong.
“We might see a yield penalty of 300 to 400k/ha on top-end yield, depending on the modelling you look at, but the year is young,” he said.
“We finished up dry-sowing on May 24 and two weeks later received 7-10mm, which got most of the crop up.
“An isolated storm in early May dropped a patchy 40mm in a couple of paddocks, which gave us some early germination, putting about 20 per cent of our program about two weeks ahead of the rest.
“But this has worked to our advantage because we can stagger the spraying program with a bigger window to target inputs at the right time.
“So even though we didn’t get a typical break, I’m still pretty confident and there’s nothing to be too concerned about yet.”
Mr Henderson said the family’s parallelogram seeder, set up with a 12mm knife-point press-wheel system, has provided more accurate seed placement and more uniform crop emergence with nothing planted too shallow or deep.
He also said the knife-point press wheels create a furrow over the top of the seed, so they get a water harvesting effect which amplifies the impact of any rainfall.
“After another 8.5mm in May, I had a dig and it was wet down to 30mm,” Mr Henderson said.
“This year, nearly half our program (45 per cent) is hay and legumes (GIA Thunder and PBA Hallmark XT lentils).
“Cereals make up the rest with an even split between wheat (Scepter, Calibre and Tomahawk CL Plus) and barley (Maximus).
“Chicken manure was spread in a couple of paddocks near the sheds but generally the cereals have had 70kg/ha of (compound fertiliser) Granulock Z, and the lentils 50kg/ha.
“We top-dressed with about 150kg/ha of urea.
“Our spraying program has begun with a broadacre early weed knockdown and we’ve been rolling our lentil country, flattening the furrows along with any sticks and rocks to increase our harvestability.”
