Hay first for Cataby grower

A contractor baled the 45-hectare paddock of Williams oats at night to keep moisture content up to 18 per cent and Duncan and his father were shifting it to a shed using a former car carrier semi-trailer when Farm Weekly visited last week.

Duncan farms the paddock and two more with his aunt Lyn.

She runs a few beef cattle and he runs a large Merino and crossbred sheep enterprise with flocks totalling up to 8000 at times - the primary focus of the Glasfurds' farming enterprise.

If it turns out to be a long, hot summer and the plentiful green feed they have now burns off, some of the hay will feed the sheep and cattle going into autumn.

If it is not needed, it will stay in the shed until the market price for oaten hay makes it worthwhile to sell.

"The contractor's been having a bit of a problem with the oats because they are too dry and the bales won't compress enough," Duncan said.

This is in contrast to the Bass 1 barley crop that sustained waterlogging damage.

"Our barley is going to let us down this year, it is not as good as it usually is," he said.

"It's on our heavier country and it got over 600 millimetres on it during the growing season and some of it was standing in water.

"Our (conventional TT) canola is good, it has finished well and our wheat - all Mace - still has a bit to go because it's been an extended finish.

"But our oats have been good - three to four tonnes a hectare - I'm happy with our oats and they don't get as much disease as the wheat and barley.

"This (warm weather) will bring everything on and they'll all be ready to harvest at the same time, I'll have to prioritise.

"But the long season means we won't finish (harvest) until mid-December.

"By this time last year we were well and truly into harvest."