It is estimated that a record amount of wheat will be harvested in Australia this season. Crops in the east of the country in particular have benefited from a relatively high amount of precipitation. This breaks the record of the 2016-2017 season. A cycle of 3 disastrously bad years is broken.
ABARES, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, calculates that the wheat harvest in the country is 33,34 million tons. This is 2,17 million tons more than was thought in December. The harvest in the country is now almost complete. The previous record (31,8 million tons) dates from the 2016-17 season.
wet summer
The reason for this hefty increase is the fact that a lot of rain fell. Especially along the east coast in recent months. This is the result of weather phenomenon La Niña, which is causing a wet summer in the country. This breaks a cycle of 3 very dry years. At the same time, wheat prices are at their highest level in 7 years, which could greatly strengthen the agricultural economy in the country.
Barley production has also been revised upwards by Abares to 13,1 million tons. This is slightly less than the 2016-17 record. This market is very different. China is the largest buyer of Australian barley. This country now has an 80% tax on barley. Wheat is increasingly shipped to the country.
Mild Spring
Farmers harvest a lot of wheat not only along the east coast, but also in Western Australia. A total of 16,6 million tons according to the Grain Industry Association of WA (GIWA). That's not a record for this part of the country. In 2016, 18,1 million tons were harvested. Apart from the fact that there was an above-average amount of precipitation, it was relatively cool. Crops thus had less to do with drought stress. As a result, crops such as rapeseed, barley and lupins have also done well.
More arable crops
Arable farmers are expected to choose to grow more of these types of crops next season. Rapeseed, lupins, but also oats are popular. As sheep numbers in Western Australia are declining, more land is being put into production for arable crops. An arable area of 8,5 million hectares is a record for the state. It is currently dry in this part of the country, because the crops have used up all the moisture reserves. Arable farmers therefore hope that there will be enough rain before sowing a new crop.