April 14, 2017
Summer-planted crops may be feeling the heat in the South Burnett but the news about winter crops should have some farmers smiling.
ABARES reported on Tuesday that favourable seasonal conditions have pushed winter crop production to record highs in all mainland States.
According to the Australian Crop Report, total winter crop production is estimated to have risen 49 per cent in 2016–17 to 58.9 million tonnes.
Acting ABARES Executive Director Peter Gooday said this estimate represented a 12 per cent upward revision to the December 2016 forecast.
“The revised winter crop estimate is the result of yields being higher than anticipated and reaching previously unseen levels in most regions,” Mr Gooday said.
“On the flip side, drier and warmer than average seasonal conditions in the cropping regions of Queensland and northern NSW over the past three months have reduced prospects for summer crop production in 2016–17.
“The timing and quantity of rainfall over the remainder of the season will be critical to the ongoing development of dryland summer crops.
“That said, with summer planting now largely complete, the total area planted is estimated to have increased by 15 per cent in 2016–17 to around 1.4 million hectares, with total summer crop production forecast to rise by 12 per cent to 4.2 million tonnes.”
Mr Gooday said the area planted to cotton was estimated to have more than doubled in 2016–17 to 557,400ha, reflecting favourable supplies of irrigation water, high levels of soil moisture early in the planting window and expected favourable returns from growing cotton.
“Area planted to irrigated cotton is estimated to have increased by 66 per cent to 348,000ha and area planted to dryland cotton is estimated to have increased by 248 per cent to 209,400ha,” Mr Gooday said.
- The February edition of the Australian Crop Report is available on the ABARES website
