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All signs are pointing to potential for record crop in latest GIWA crop report

Headshot of Shannon Smith
Shannon SmithNarrogin Observer
GIWA crop report author Michael Lamond.
Camera IconGIWA crop report author Michael Lamond. Credit: GIWA

There is “potential for a record crop” after a superb start to the season for WA grain growers, according to the Grain Industry Association of WA’s June crop report.

Author Michael Lamond has called WA’s crop success early after good rainfall across the State during seeding, with the total crop area up by nearly 5 per cent compared to last year’s bumper season.

“The similarities to 2016, which produced a record total grain tonnage of just over 18 million tonnes, are striking,” Mr Lamond said.

“The 2016 growing season got off to an early start and early crop growth was excellent, again, the same conditions for the start of the 2021 growing season.

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“On top of this, there is 16 per cent more crop in the ground in 2021 than 2016.”

The Kwinana Zone has sown an estimate of 4.41 million hectares of the State’s 9m.

Mr Lamond said crops in the Kwinana South area were looking promising, with all crops having above-average grain yield potential.

“Crop growth is good to excellent for most of the region, except for a small area along the Great Eastern Highway that keeps missing out on the rain,” he said. “Crops that were sown in April and early May have been pushed along by the warm growing conditions and are ahead of where they would normally be at this time of the year.

“While this means more frost risk, it also means less exposure to heat shock in the spring.

“The wide range in growth stages from a strung-out planting period into moisture, means less of the WA grain crop will be exposed to frost at any one point in time.”

Mr Lamond said canola in the area was up about 20 per cent overall, particularly in the medium to low rainfall regions.

“Most of the extra canola has taken area from barley and wheat, and to a lesser extent lupins,” he said. “There is a slight increase in total area with an extra paddock or two of pasture being sown to barley or wheat at the end of the seeding program.”

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