TRAYNING farmer Andy Riley and dog Senator Choof are standing in a Leichardt wheat crop that was sown on June 2 and is still a bit green, so is unlikely to be harvested until December.
He started his seeding program on May 10, maintaining that he was not tempted to go earlier.
"Because of the very good break I saw it as an opportunity for a double knock down, so if that meant a slight delay in sowing, so be it," Andy said.
"But I was still well within the sowing window.
"I work on the theory that sowing each side of the 21st or 22nd of May is my optimum sowing time."
He is hopeful of minimal frost damage.
"Historically I have only suffered on country with an eastern aspect.
"The September frost events that included temperatures of -4 degrees Celcius in Shires south of here, my weather station was showing 0.6 to 0.7 degrees Celcius as a minimum."
Andy seeded up to 1000 hectares and expects to start harvesting next week.
"This is slightly less than normal because I have been slowly increasing my sheep.
"I am a very keen woolgrower and the outlook from what I can glean, and my wool broker can glean, is very positive and the world protein market for red meat is very good, so I think they are a great future, particularly in light of poor grain prices."
Andy is a one-man operation who employs a casual at seeding and harvest, depending on the season.
"I usually run two dogs too but at the moment I have only got one."
When Farm Weekly visited last week he was preparing his New Holland header he has used for "seven or eight years" and said it was in very good order and "not a lot of work to do on it that I know of, but touch wood".