BOLGART farmer Julian McGill has called this year’s season a “rare event” with high grain prices across the board and the outlook of very high yields for a majority of the State.
“The whole time I have been farming, which is more than 20 years, I have never seen the harvest outlook this good,” Mr McGill said.
“Mainly because every time we have a good season we seem to have horrible grain prices, which isn’t the case this year.”
With 1550 hectares of wheat, barley and canola, Mr McGill said he couldn’t be happier with the season so far, even with the dry start.
“It finally rained on May 24 with 80 per cent of crop sown dry, which was a massive relief,” he said.
The farm has received 437 millimetres to date for the year, with the growing season rainfall at 322mm.
The rainfall has proven to be a challenge, with a very wet July and early August meaning Mr McGill has had to rely on aerial spraying to spread the rest of his urea.
“At the moment we are aerial spreading another 22 units of nitrogen on top of the 74 units the crops have already had to try to capitalise on yields,” he said.
In most areas around Bolgart the paddocks are too wet to get on to, with farmers running the risk of being bogged or making a mess in the paddock.
Taurus Aviation owner Brad Jones has stationed one of his planes in Bolgart for the past four weeks with another few weeks of work to go.
Mr Jones said his phone hadn’t stopped ringing with people wanting to get a late application of nitrogen on or spray out their fungicide.
Mr McGill said he would hold off locking in his canola prices, with a promising outlook that it might reach $600 a tonne.
“I’m looking forward to an above-average harvest along with the majority of farmers in WA,” he said.
“There are a few spots in the State that are struggling with moisture but from all reports the late rain they have received recently will get them through.”