IT’s the irony of Australian weather that last year part of Scaddan farmer Mick Liebeck’s crop was destroyed by fire and this year he has experienced losses due to flooding.
A cold, wet July and August, including 112 millimetres of rain in August, “pushed crops over the edge” restricting canola yields to anything from 200 kilograms per hectare on his southern block to 1.7 tonnes per hectare further north.
The best of it has been on the burnt country.
“It was a bit slow to get going in those paddocks, then it really took off,” Mick said.
So far the Liebecks have had 500mm rainfall compared to an average annual expectation of 425mm.
Despite last year’s setback Mick maintained his 2850 hectare program planting 1200ha Mace wheat, 750ha Benito and Stingray canola, 500ha Bass barley and 400ha Gunyidi lupins.
“The barley suffered some late weed germination but it’s the wheat that has done the best this year,” Mick said.
“We expect yields of about 3t/ha for it and 2t/ha for the barley.”
Mick was checking out this Benito canola crop, planted in one of the burnt paddocks, when Farm Weekly visited.
