Western Australia Having 'Wonderful' Season
07/09/11 -- Just as I am reading about the potential for Western Australia to have "well above average" yields this year, what lands in my inbox but these pictures from my mate Bill Crabtree Down Under.
Bill farms in the Geraldton area of WA and says that they are "having a wonderful season" and he certainly seems to have the pictures to prove it.
Elsewhere today the state's Department of Agriculture is forecasting above average rainfall through to the end of October, and it is they who are predicting yields of well above average.
Wheat production in the state slumped to just 4.7 MMT last season, but looks could rebound to as high as 8.4 MMT this year, according to some recent reports - that would be an increase of more than three quarters.
Serious Stuff In Western Australia
Farmers in Western Australia have got so fed up with low grain prices and lack of rain that their winter sowings this year will be 10% down "if we're lucky" according to this report: here.
They're predicting a grain crop for Australia's largest producing state well below ABARE's estimate of 12 MMT.
The final paragraph sums it up: "If anyone is doing any more sowing, it is for soil conservation purposes on the sand plains to stop it blowing."
Western Australia Wheat 'Not Looking Good At All'
An interesting article on Bloomberg here today says that wheat output in Australia's largest producing and exporting state is under threat from lack of rainfall this year.
State capital Perth is set to record the second driest June in it's history, it says. Wheat production may fall nearly 19% from last year, and almost 27% on the year before to around 6.5 MMT, it adds.
Western Australia Crops Also Weather Damaged
Whilst it has been widely reported in the media recently that crops in eastern Australia have suffered some losses and quality downgrades due to heavy rains, news is now emerging of similar problems in Western Australia, the nation's largest producing state.
The vast majority of wheat from this region gets exported, primarily due to the distance between it and the more heavily populated regions in the east, where the ASX milling wheat contract is based.
Western Australia's Department of Agriculture and Food reported Thursday that the harvest in the region has been delayed and damaged by poor weather, including heavy rains and hail.
Rainfall totals "well above normal for November" have fallen in many areas of WA's vast wheatbelt, they say, causing some crop losses and also quality downgrades similar to what has been witnessed in the east.
"Pre-harvest sprouting in wheat crops is causing some concern... (with a) significant proportion of cereals to be downgraded to feed" the report added.
The Department didn't put a figure of the quantity of grain affected. The state was forecast to produce 8.3mmt of wheat, 2.34mmt barley and 775,000 canola by Abare last month. Abare issues revised production estimates next week.
Western Australia Gets Promised Rain
A slow moving cold front has dropped temperatures more than 10 degrees through southwest WA and brought the best rain in months.
Perth recorded 21mm to 9am this morning plus another 12mm today, their best rain in 2 months.
Albany, on the southern coast has recorded 10mm in the same period. They also recorded a maximum today of just 13 degrees, 4 below average and a massive 14 degrees less than the 27 degrees they recorded on Wednesday. Perth reached just 17 today, more than 8 degrees less than the 25 degrees recorded yesterday.
Rainfall totals southwest of about Geraldton to Albany were the best since July, with widespread falls of 15 to 30mm.
Further rain is expected tonight, with another 10 to 20mm likely in some areas by Friday afternoon. Rain will also spread inland to the Central Wheat Belt, most of which has so far only seen small totals of less than 5mm.
Western Australia Wheat Latest
Significant rains are forecast for Western Australia's wheatlands Thursday/Friday which could go a long way towards making this season's crop.
WA typically accounts for around 40-45% of national production and is a major exporter.
Output in the state this year may match 2003's record 11mmt according to some analysts.
However, temperatures in parts of the region fell to an unusually cold -1 to -3 Monday night. It is not yet clear if any crop damage was caused.
Farmers in the far north of the state are expected to begin harvesting wheat in the next 10-14 days, and last weekends rains plus what is forecast for this week should finish the crop off nicely, a dealer said.
Australia: WA drenched, wettest July in 13 years in parts
(Weatherzone) -- Widespread rain once again drenched much of WA on Wednesday, lifting rain totals for July above average across most western and southern regions.
Heavy falls hit the west coast early Wednesday morning as a front moved in from the Indian Ocean. Bickley received 79mm by 9am, their heaviest rain in seven years. Nearby Mundaring's 64mm was their highest fall in five months but heaviest July fall in seven years.
The front also brought strong winds to the southwest of the state with gusts reaching 98 km/h at Cape Leeuwin at around 7am.
The rain will ease during Thursday as the front heads into SA but another front will bring further rain to southwest WA during the weekend.
In the Central Wheat Belt, Goomalling has now received 120mm this month, around double the long term average and wettest July in 13 years. The welcome rain has significantly boosted the states crop prospects.
Record grain harvest predicted for south-coast Australia
(ABC News) -- A Western Australian grain handler says the south-coast is on track to producer one of the biggest harvests on record.
Co-operative Bulk Handling is predicting an eight to 10 million tonne harvest this season.
Albany is expected to produce over one quarter of that total.
Operations manager Colin Tutt says Albany should top its previous record of 2.7 million tonnes of grain, based on increased plantings and good rainfall.
Mr Tutt says canola plantings have increased by 30 per cent this year, with growers keen to cash in on high grain prices.
"The Albany zone is just fantastic. They've probably had one of their best starts and there's enormous amounts of plantings this year, in comparison to previous years so that area is set for record production if we can get the rains to keep coming as they have been," he said.
Locally Heavy Falls in Southwest Western Australia
An approaching front is bringing heavy rain rates and gusty winds to the southwest of Australia. Ahead of the front there are strong northwest winds with 10 minute rainfall rates reaching 7mm.
Around the Perth district, Rottnest Island received a wind gust of 88.9 km/h. In the Southwest Cape Leeuwin reached a maximum wind gust of 87 km/h. Winds are also picking up along the Southern Coastal region, with Esperance receiving a wind gust of 68.4 km/h.
Along with the gusty winds, there is locally heavy rainfall rates. Heavy falls were especially prevalent around the Perth area. In Swanbourne, rainfall rates reached as high as 7mm in just 10 minutes. Also around the area, Jandakot received 4.8mm in 10 minutes and Rottnest Island with 3mm. In the Lower West, Mandurah received 6.6mm in 10 minutes and in the Southwest, Bunbury received 6.2mm.
Showers will persist as the front passes the south of WA.
Heavy Rains Forecast For Western Australia
Only two days after strong winds and widespread rain, a large area of Western Australia is on target for another, possibly more severe weather event. It is likely to be more severe, particularly in terms of winds which may exceed 125 km/h. A Severe Weather Warning has been issued due to the prospect of destructive winds and abnormally high tides from Geraldton to Merredin to Hopetoun.
An intensifying cold front and low is mapping out a path across a large area of southwest WA and will be the cause of the severe weather including widespread rain and a cold change. Rainfall may be more than a few days ago in south of about Perth and should spread a little further north and east also. Anywhere south of about Perth and east of about Albany could receive 25 to 50 millimetres on Thursday night and Friday. Some locations on the hills near Perth already picked up 50mm a few days ago.
Western Australia could have biggest grain crop ever
Western Australia state, the nation's biggest wheat producer, may grow its biggest grain crop ever should rain continue to fall during the growing season, CBH Group said.
Total grain output may be between 12 million metric tons and 16 million tons this year, said Michael Musgrave, operations manager for Perth-based CBH, the state's largest grain handler and marketer. The regions biggest crop so far was the 14.6 million tons produced in the 2003-2004 season, he said. Wheat usually accounts for 70 percent of the state's crop.
Farmers in Australia, the world's sixth-largest wheat exporter, are forecast to double output of the grain to 26/27 million metric tons this year to benefit from a 96 percent gain in prices. Growers will start planting wheat after "significant" rain in parts of the state, Musgrave said.
"We believe growers will be very aggressive in terms of planting," he said today in a phone interview. "We're planning for a 16 million ton crop at the high-end."
Parts of the state's wheat growing regions received "significant'' rainfall in the past 24 hours, Musgrave said. The amount of rain ranged from 5 millimeters to 20 millimeters on average, with bigger falls in some areas, he said. Growing regions in the north-east that have suffered drought in previous seasons also got good falls, Musgrave said.
