I farm at Buntine, 320 kilometres North of Perth in the Mid West region with my wife Lisa-May, our 1 year old son Henry and my parents, Mel and Ros. We are a family run business, counting 3 full time and 2 casual employees for seeding and harvest, with Lisa-May and Mum providing farm office support. We are a 100% cropping enterprise with 5,500 ha of wheat, barley, lupins and canola. The soil types are mixed with sandy loams, heavy clays and some shallow gravel. Our annual rainfall is around 280mm.
Last year was a terrific season, as it was for almost everyone in WA. It was looking very dry in June but with 75% of the seasons rain falling from July on and a very mild spring, yields were excellent. Our wheat averaged around 2.5 t/ha. Having said that, 2021 was slightly better for us.
For this year we are planning a normal program but with a close eye on profitability due to high input prices. Grain prices are still good, but with minimal summer rainfall so far the break to the season will be more critical than usual in deciding to plant the entire program as yield potential declines. Summer rain is becoming more critical in our area and certainly provides greater confidence in the face of higher input prices.
The last two good seasons have given our business a good financial buffer should we decide to plant a smaller program. In the event of a dry start we may look to reduce our cropping program and implement a winter soil amelioration program to address compaction and pH in our more marginal soils. Deep tillage is far easier to manage in winter and the opportunity to do this in summer doesn’t always happen.
Managing our ever increasing costs of cropping inputs and machinery maintenance remains a big concern for us and something that requires close monitoring. The margins in growing grain are always getting tighter and managing the costs of running our business is critical.