IF you happen to see Wannamal grower and Boorabbin Park stud
owner Iain Nicholson driving around in a new ute next season, the record setting oil content in his canola crop is to thank for the shiny new wheels.
Mr Nicholson, who farms with wife Lucy, said he was “a bit surprised” when he first heard the top reading of 54.5 per cent from his 240 hectare canola crop which was part of their 850ha cropping program this year.
“I just thought it was the season and everyone else would be getting that but then Lucy talked to some people and she calculated the value – that’s when I got excited,” he said.
“It works out to be more than $100/t premium – we had two loads one at 51.9 and another at 52 and the rest have all been 54.5.”
While oil content is setting State records, Mr Nicholson said his crop yields were also setting farm records.
“Because of the clover, I don’t get too excited about yields as I reckon we take a bit of a hit of up to 200kg/ha on a good clover stand and we graze it pretty hard which knocks the yield around,” he said.
“We budget for an average yield of 1.5t/ha in the canola – and the oils are normally between 44-48pc – the best ever is 1.8t/ha but this year was a 2.3t/ha.
“In the wheat the best we’ve had is 4t/ha and we think we’ll go that comfortably again when we get going.”
The oil is sold to GrainCorp Oilseeds in Pinjarra, where WA operations manager Tom Tremlett said the oil content was the highest he had seen in 26 years in the business, suggesting
the couple had an oil well under the crop.
Mr Nicholson attributed the high oil percentage to a combination of the variety and a “really good finish”.
The couple has grown Gem, an early-mid season, open-pollinated variety for the past four years after seeing it perform well in the district.
“We generally watch what other people are growing – it is basically word of mouth,” Mr Nicholson said.
“We haven’t gone down the genetically modified or triazine tolerant line because I want the clover base underneath.”
The clover plays an important role in the cropping program and sheep operations.
While its main enterprise is the Boorabbin Park Merino stud, the
couple strike a balance between the two by using the cropping paddocks for both mating and lambing.
“We try and mate ewes on canola stubbles, particularly if they have a lot of clover to increase fertility on a rising plane of nutrition and they seem to do pretty well,” Mr Nicholson said.
“We then don’t like to start seeding too early to try and utilise those cropping paddocks for lambing – we like to have a lot of the lambs on the ground before we start the cropping program – that way we can move them off the day before we spray, seed
it, and we’re into it.
“The late seeding also lets the pastures get away - we are more sheep orientated so it suits us.”
Sheep are also put back onto the canola crop after seeding, particularly during leaner seasons.
“It took a bit for us to get our heads around putting sheep into canola but I sat in there and watched them – they walk straight in and don’t touch the canola until they put up a spike up with a flower and that’s the stage they come out anyway,” he said.
“Plus the sheep went straight for the clover plants and they nip the centre out of each clover plant and the plant sprawls out and you get an even better stand.
“On those harder years you graze the canolas and it gives the pastures a chance to recover.”
This year the couple started seeding canola in late May and finished with wheat in early June.
The canola was sown onto a former wheat paddock due to limitations in arable land and received the split applications of 40kg/ha of urea.
“This is the first time we put put canola on wheat – normally we do a canola on pasture or a wheat on pasture and then a canola, depending on the grass weeds, but then I will do a year or two of pasture,” he said.
Over the past few years the Nicholsons have also invested more in soil science through soil analysis and increasing phosphorus fertiliser applications.
The business is also looking at expanding its cropping program as it leases more land for a burgeoning stud.
“Because we’ve been working on getting our sheep rates up we need the extra land, but I don’t ever want to crop over 1500ha – it’s a fair workload for us with the sheep as well,” Mr Nicholson said.
