G'day from the heart of Southern Queensland.
We are full tilt spraying weeds and getting our summer crop, sorghum, in the ground. Ideally, we'd have done this sooner, but rain didn't show up until November. It's been a dry one — very low rainfall year. The recent rain in November has been a game-changer, though. Finally we are flat out, working to fallows sprayed and get our summer crops in before Christmas.
Our soils are heavy black clay, and we usually go 50/50 or 60/40 with summer-winter crops. Sorghum is our go-to summer crop, with mung beans making an appearance every now and then. Come winter, its barley and chickpeas.
Weeds are a pain in the neck. Dealing with hard to weeds like fleabane and feather top tests your patience, and can be very expensive. Managing inputs costs is a constant battle. But, we're over the moon about the recent rain. We had a very good winter crop this year, (despite the low rainfall) and with commodity prices strong’ things are looking good. I am very proud to be a Queenslander, and very proud of what we grow. We are blessed to farm where we do, growing both winter and summer crops.
I’m hoping for follow up rain, Queensland's still got dry patches, its summer and it’s been hot. There's a cyclone brewing, which might stir things up a bit – although I’m pretty sure it won't bother us much here. Fingers crossed Mother Nature plays nice and gives everyone the rain they need. We still need to build a soil moisture profile to set up the winter crop for next year. January's just around the corner, and before you know it, we will be planting winter crops again. (Weather pending)
As part of the Grains100 cohort, I still refer back to what we learned in the program, particularly in my role as chair of the AgForce Grains Board. The skills I learned have been very handy professionally and personally. The communication networks are incredibly valuable.
Merry Christmas, and cheers to hoping for rain in all the right places!