Drought Recovery Strategies - Crop After the Drought

Wheat
Barley
Oats
Ryecorn and Triticale
Peas
Profitability
Crop gross margins

Crop After the Drought

Cash cropping may help keep cash flowing if capital stock numbers are down after the drought.

Possible options include:

Crops for the stock feed market.
Crops for human consumption (eg malting barley, milling wheat, special purpose peas).
Crops to store and eventually feed out on your own farm.

Before sowing a crop, however, ensure you have facilities for harvesting (contractor or neighbour) and storage facilities. Most crops are not sold direct off the header and need storing for a number of months. Silos are preferred because they can be made vermin-proof, are waterproof, and can be easily cleaned to eliminate storage pests. Also, make sure you have a contract to sell the crop before you plant it-an uncontracted crop may be difficult to sell.

Soil fertility requirements are phosphate 15+, sulphur 8+, and potassium 5+. Where the crop is sown into a run-out paddock that has had no clover, nitrogen may be needed in the first year. Where clovers have been dominant or the paddock has been used for feeding out to stock, nitrogen should not be needed. The best soils are moderately free draining (not heavy clays) and should be easily cultivated to a good seedbed.

High yields are obtained when good moisture during the whole growing period is followed by dry conditions at harvest. A good crop of wheat needs about 700 mm water (soil stored, rain and irrigation) during the growing period.

Wheat

wheat feild Wheat needs good fertility and moisture during grain-fill periods. Autumn/winter sown crops (May-June) make most of their growth while there is moisture in the soil, but may be checked if there is a dry spring/summer. Spring-sown cultivars tend to be lower yielding, but may suit some situations.

Main diseases are takeall (a fungus carried in roots of grasses, especially couch); stripe rust in susceptible varieties; fusarium which is common with alternating wet and dry; and insects such as aphids. Varieties are bred for biscuit flour, bread flour, or feed for stock.

Under dry conditions, yields can go down to below 2.5 t/ha, but can reach up to 7.5 t/ha with irrigation. Nitrogen is recommended with irrigated crops, but is normally not needed on dryland. The straw has low digestibility and is not worth saving for feeding of stock.

Barley

Barley can grow under lower fertility than wheat but the nutrient removal is similar to wheat. Autumn and winter sown crops may mature before summer drought, and typically are harvested about Christmas. Spring sown crops are harvested in mid to late January. Barley is less susceptible to takeall than wheat but can be affected with scald, spot blotch and net blotch. The fungus diseases may need spraying in higher yielding crops. The straw is moderately palatable and can be baled for maintenance feed. Nitrogen applications must be carefully controlled as barley will not abort seed but rather produce thin grains (screenings). Varieties are bred for malting or feeding (pigs, poultry, cattle etc). Yields are similar to wheat.

Oats

Oats can grow under lower fertility and remove fewer nutrients than barley. Normally winter-sown crops produce the best yields and straw is useful for stock feeding. The grain may be fed to stock and as it has a higher fibre content, it is less likely to cause digestive upsets.

Ryecorn and Triticale

Ryecorn is similar to wheat but lower yielding. It is mainly sown for autumn greenfeed, but small amounts are used in speciality breads and may be fed to livestock. It is more resistant to disease than wheat. Straw is not palatable for stock. Contracts are difficult to obtain.

Triticale is a cross between wheat and ryecorn. Its benefits are better yield, shorter straw and higher disease resistance than wheat. Uses are similar to ryecorn.

Peas

A wide range of peas is grown. Common types are brown peas for feed, blue, white, marrowfat, garden and freezer. They don't suffer the same diseases as cereals but where peas have been grown too often in a rotation, a number of soil-borne diseases may occur. Prices offered for peas depend on potential yield, eg low price for reliable varieties, high for risky and short strawed. They will grow on similar fertility to barley, but as harvesting is close to the ground, stones must be rolled in. Expected yields range from 2.0 to 3.5 t/ha.

Peas leave the soil in a good condition for establishing new pasture.

Profitability

The gross margin for barley gives an indication of the costs and returns. It is based on using contract harvesting and spraying but farmer equipment for planting, etc. The gross margin of $200 for 4 t/ha is equivalent to 5 su/ha at $40/su so it may be better to buy in store stock. Alternatively, at 8 su/ha and $40/su gross margin, you need to achieve 5 t/ha barley to be better off.