AFTER four tough years Gippsland grain growers have found themselves in the box seat to capitalise on price premiums this season.
Harvesting is in full swing and yields and quality are some of the best growers have seen in recent years, in contrast to other regions where crops have been downgraded by heavy rain.
- AT A GLANCE
- Who: Trevor Caithness
- What: Gippsland grain harvest
- Where: Goon Nure, Victoria
- Why: Best in years
- Report: FIONA SHEEAN
In the past, Gippsland growers have sold most of their grain to local dairy farmers for stock feed as hefty freight costs to Melbourne make the trip for milling or malting unviable.
But this season, as the feed grain market faces oversupply, the doors to the higher-end grain market have opened a little wider, putting Gippsland grain in a position to gain potential premiums of up to $100 a tonne.
Grower and Southern Farming Systems Gippsland branch director Trevor Caithness, of Goon Nure near Bairnsdale, said the season had started dry in the main growing triangle, from Traralgon to Yarram and further east to Orbost, but good rain since early October resulted in a good finish.
"Crop yields are probably back to what we would consider our long-term average," Trevor said.
"We've been fortunate that we haven't had the large rain events that other parts of the state have.
"The soil has been relatively dry so with the rain that we did get the country took it up quite well."
The Caithness family farm 1200ha, with 500ha of crop and 350 breeding cows producing calves to finish in a farm feedlot depending on the season.
The bulk of their red composite cattle are sold directly to meatworks with most going through the MSA grading system for beef.
Grain growing in Gippsland is still relatively new compared to other parts of the state and it has really only become viable in the past 10 years.
However, Trevor said the area cropped this year was down a little due to the poor prices a year ago.
"People did start to lose a bit of confidence in the industry but this year has been a good one for those that hung in there," he said.
The Caithness family grew wheat and barley this year, opting to leave canola out of their rotation due to its higher risk.
They grew two varieties of wheat.
Half were winter varieties planted early in autumn and grazed through winter, then locked up for grain.
The other half were spring varieties planted in May and June and not grazed.
Trevor said it had been a year where weed control and effective use of fungicides had paid dividends on crop yields.
"Those that have managed to keep on top of weeds and leaf diseases are really reaping the rewards," he said.
Trevor said he was happy with the yield and quality from their 300ha of wheat and 200ha of barley.
The barley yielded an average of 3.5 to five tonnes/ha, spring wheat four tonnes/ha, and the winter wheats are expected to average 3.75 tonnes/ha.
"That is the yield range that most people are achieving this year and most are pretty happy with that," Trevor said.
Trevor said a number of farmers were hoping that their barley would make malting grade and their spring wheat milling grade.
They are looking at a 50 per cent increase on the stock-feed price, with potential premiums of $80 to $100 a tonne.
Normally there is only about $30-$40 a tonne difference, less freight costs of $25 a tonne.
While the premiums were enticing, Trevor said there was also a lot to learn about marketing.
"We are trying to learn all about that at the moment and work out if we should sell it on a cash basis or into various marketing pools," he said.
Unfortunately, this year Trevor's wheat didn't make milling grade, but he remains hopeful their barley will make the cut.
"Our strategy now is to store as much grain on-farm as possible and market it to the dairy industry through autumn and winter," Trevor said.
His wheat crop, grazed from May until August, had already made $300/ha from beef finishing, which helped cover the bulk of costs.
"We achieved 150kg of weight gain on cattle in 2 1/2 months so it is a pretty high return per hectare already," he said.
Toongabbie grower and SFS Gippsland branch chairman Ben Morris said his barley was malt quality this year, but he was unsure if it would be sold to the higher-end market.
He said they ran the risk of sending grain 250km to the nearest receiving site at Geelong and some not making the grade, leaving them with a hefty freight bill.
"There has got to be $40 a tonne difference between feed and malt at the port to make it worthwhile for us," Ben said.
"If we can get malt prices it is worthwhile but whether the margins are there to take that risk this year we're not sure.
"Unless we can find someone to buy it on-farm and say they are taking it before it goes on the truck we may still be better off selling it for feed locally.
"We are not pressured to make the decision yet because we have the storage for it so we are holding it at the moment."
