THE canola in Andrew Holmberg's paddock at Elmore reaches his chest.
But a good harvest from the genetically-modified crop still hinges on getting a drink in the next few weeks.
Mr Holmberg, who farms with his brother Colin and father George, said the crops were on a knife edge and while they were looking good at the moment, he was searching the sky for clouds.
"It really needs a good rain to finish it off," Mr Holmberg said. "We'd love 20m, but we'll run with what we've got."
Mr Holmberg was philosophical about the season.
"We can't control the weather and farming doesn't always work out the way you want it to."
He sowed 48ha of Round-up Ready Canola and 180ha of Clearfield hybrid canola in May "to have a crack" at something new. "We don't want to be complacent with farming and we'll do anything to give us an edge," Mr Holmberg said.
"It's been well adopted in other parts of the world and unless people are prepared to grow it on a large scale then no one will learn anything."
