HARVEST is already underway in some parts of the State and the talking point for many areas has centred around how different this season will be compared to last year's record results.
While some of the southern areas will start later and could expect results as good as last year, for many others, particularly in the northern areas, the crops are smaller and the tonnages will be a lot less.
One farmer in that category is Clayton Smith, who farms with his father Max and brother Nick at Wannamal, which is considered a fairly safe rainfall zone.
Mr Smith said while the previous two years had seen well above-average rainfall for their area, this year was the opposite.
"This year has been below-average rainfall for us," Mr Smith said.
"This will also be the case in terms of crops, with yields expected to be below average.
"What was probably the most disappointing for us was the canola, as it flowered early and dropped early.
"While our canola will be the closest of our crops to being average yield, it could have been a lot better.
"Our cereals will definitely be lower yields than previous years."
Mr Smith said they were very happy after China lifted its tariffs on Australian barley and what it did for the pricing.
They leased extra land this year and planted it all to Maximus barley.
The 2023 harvest will wrap up a lot quicker than last year's record tonnage and yields.
One grower in the Latham area said it took him 10 weeks to finish harvest last year, while this year it was wrapped up in just 10 days.
Mr Smith is preparing to get underway soon for his earliest start ever.
"The early start, coupled with the lack of tonnage to our east, means we should be able to get it into the bins really quickly," Mr Smith said.
"We have also purchased a new, bigger, Case header which should chew through it all quicker - most likely resulting in our quickest harvest ever."
The earliest start and earliest finish was not the only change to their program, with commodity prices affecting their decisions about their hay program.
"We put some extra oats in this year, expecting the hay price to jump," Mr Smith said.
"But we have decided to cut less hay and instead we are going to harvest more oats because of the strong price of oats, especially the milling oats."
Living in the higher rainfall zone of Darkan, Michael Goss said initially they were looking for an ideal season with above-average crop yields, but that has all changed.
"It has turned out to be an average season for us," Mr Goss said.
"I know there are a lot of areas that have not been as lucky as us though."
While he was grateful for an average season, he said the timing of seeding would provide a clear distinction on crop performances and yields.
"Canola will go well, but the cereals will pinch off a bit," Mr Goss said.
"Early crops will do well, but the later crops will struggle more especially with the heat."
He said that it would be a normal harvest for them in terms of duration.
