A CALM and steady approach and a willingness to try new ideas has seen Yerecoin farmer Gary Manning successfully weather almost 50 years of farming.
His entrepreneurial outlook, learnt from his father and now passed onto his son Kyle Manning, who runs the farm day-to-day, is set to see the farm deliver a well-above average yield this season.
Arlunya Farm, between New Norcia and Yerecoin, has been in the family for three generations, with the first slice of land purchased in 1955 by Robert Manning from the Fowler family.
The farm is about 5600 hectares, 3800ha of which they own and 1800ha is leased.
Comprising 98 per cent cropping and 2pc livestock, they have been consistently planting Benito and genetically modified canola, Spartacus and Bass barley, Scepter and Zen wheat and hay.
The only major change to their crops in the past few years has been dropping lupins.
Slowly moving to be predominantly cropping has been a strategic choice for Mr Manning, as it produced more productivity than livestock.
Another strategically-made decision has been the move towards Zen wheat, which makes up half of that program.
"Noodles (Zen wheat) traditionally get us a better return, although not this year," Gary Manning said.
"Some years it can be a $30 to $40 a tonne premium.
"It's always a little bit hard to get an idea of production until the header goes in but it had quite a long growing season and quite a cool finish, so apart from the frost and the hail damage, we should have one of our better production years."
Seeding started this year in early April, with all varieties going in wet, causing a quick germination, compared to a dry seeding for the past two years.
The rainfall in the region nearly doubled, raising hopes for many farmers, including the Mannings who are looking at a bumper harvest.
"Rainfalls went from 260 millimetres last year to 460mm this year," Mr Manning said.
"Last year the crops germinated when it rained, which meant it all came up at the end of May or first week of June, whereas this year we had crop out of the ground on April 20, as most of the crop germinated when we put it in.
"There has been a much longer growing season, but we've had a little bit of frost and a little bit of hail and the rain just last week may have downgraded the quantity, so there are still three unknowns as to final yields."
Although they have experienced hail and frost this year, the farm's location has seen the crops traditionally scrape through without too much damage.
"Previously, the worst we've been hit by frost is 15pc but the further you go east the frost becomes more prevalent, most years we have been very fortunate, we always seem to get some sort of crop," he said.
Some areas of the farm were hit with hail in the last week of October and assessors will inspect the damage this week, but Mr Manning expects only a couple hundred hectares of canola to be affected.
With 30pc of their canola crops sold, the Mannings made the most of the soaring canola prices, locking in a little with each $100 price increment.
"We are more sold now than we have ever been and that's because of the canola, normally we don't sell much before we harvest it," Mr Manning said.
"Every time the price went up we bought a bit and then when it got to 1000 ($1000/t) we bought a bit more.
"I was locking in a bit every $100 or so."
There have been a lot of changes in the past 49 harvests that Mr Manning has been involved in, but there are two things that he believes has transformed farming in the area.
"We've had a lot of things we've tried over the years that haven't worked,'' he said.
"Deep blade seeding and canola, however, are the two things that probably transformed farming in this area.
"The soil structure is getting better because we are not cultivating the soil too much and we are only working a paddock once every year."
Although they have weathered many of the challenges thrown at farmers during 2021, they haven't been without their share of difficulties.
A swathing machine breakdown and lack of staffing will mean an interesting start to harvest season, which is set to commence in a few weeks.
"We have three permanents at the moment but we used to run one permanent and three backpackers," he said.
"Like so many farms, it's very hard to get staff, with very few backpackers around due to COVID.
"We are probably one down and we need another one just for harvest.
"However it doesn't seem that people from the cities want the jobs, there's plenty of work out here and normally it's good pay and good accommodation."
When it comes to the recent swathing machine breakdown, it all seems par for the course for Mr Manning, who has prioritised buying land over upgrading his machinery.
"The focus has been on getting enough land to make the farm sustainable," he said.
"We have always tried to buy second-hand gear that can get the job done with the minimum amount of money spent."
The Mannings have always leased land, with 1800ha leased from the New Norcia Monastery.
"Leasing land has been very good for us over the years, as it's given us an economy of scale without having to own it," Mr Manning said.
Hay baling is well underway, with the canola swathing about halfway through, while they will start wheat and barley this month.
With the past two years running at a below-average yield due to drought and lack of rain, the Mannings are expecting a well above-average yield this year.
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