Birchip Cropping Group was born in 1992 and Wooroonook grain grower Jon Whykes signed on as a member soon after – and still thinks it’s one of the smarter farming decisions he has made.
In plain English, Mr Whykes said if you were in any way interested in grain production, being part of BCG was “a no-brainer”.
“Because if you can’t get $500 of benefit out of your membership each year, then you haven’t tried very hard,” Mr Whykes said.
As a host farmer of a Charlton NVT site – he said there were canola and cereals being grown on almost 3ha of his land this season – he said it was just a small part of a significant program.
This year’s trial site is on the Borung Highway, which is the road from his property to Donald.
Mr Whykes has been a trial host well before BCG was awarded the NVT contract and is more than happy to continue his involvement.
“Being part of BCG offers you a lot – from access to its local trials to ongoing participation in the NVT work,” Mr Whykes adds.
“It is a great coalition of farmers with the same interests – and many of them are farmers you might not otherwise meet and greet as they come from far and wide,” he says.
“But you all share a common interest and the desire to always be learning more.
“I also think taking part in BCG tech workshops and similar is another plus of being a member – not bad for a small membership fee.”
Mr Whykes and his wife Elizabeth farm in partnership with his brother Tim and his wife Debra, running 4400ha after their father made the move there from the Mallee in 1957.
He was the only child in the family when they arrived, and says the rest were actually true locals.
“We are growing cereals (mostly wheat, barley and oats), pulses (including faba beans, lentils and field peas), and vetch, which is used for hay and to help fix nitrogen into the soil as part of our rotation,” Mr Whykes said.
“Right now we could do with some rain – we had a wet January, but no rain in February and March and since then only 14mm, which was a few weeks ago now.
“Our crops are all sown, most in this district are just about finished, and we definitely have subsoil moisture, we just need some more rain to help get things going.
“We don’t have any emergence yet, but we are expecting some rain this week (June 11-15 at the time of the interview) and if it comes that would be helpful.”
Mr Whykes said the cornerstone of the NVT trials now being run by BCG was their independence.
He said it was one thing for commercial entities to tell you how good their products were, bit it was always good to be able to refer to some independent research.
“There are always new varieties with new promises, and the industry needs that progress, so it is always good to find out if the promises match the reality,” he said.
“Another big reason why the trials are such a great recourse for us growers, as well as being great for the future of BCG.”
