BCG (Birchip Cropping Group) has compiled a list of things worth considering:
• Start prioritising particular crops given a number of crops are or have a high chance of being on the ground at harvest using crop type, likely yield, price, speed to get quantities off, potential for damage through bad conditions at harvest, grain storage options, etc. Where possible, target the good areas first to get best return for effort.
• Waterlogging and warm temperatures are theoretically a bad combination due to oxygen deficiency, however given crops are well and truly into grain filling, the impact may not be disastrous.
• Water laying in crops—thinking based on the less developed crops is ~7-10 days will be OK subject to soil type, speed of draining, depth of water, but there is not a lot of research to address this. Where follow-up rain extends this, it may lead to trouble.
• Give things a couple of weeks to “dry”, reassess, check grain for continuing development or abortion. Wheat may abort some of the later florets or the highest and lowest spikelets meaning heads may not be as wide or long as normally expected. Canola will be a wait-and-see, assessing impacts as we progress and making decisions then.
With thanks to BCG for contributing this information. Murray Dairy enjoys a longstanding partnership with BCG, most recently exemplified through the Fodder for the Future Project.
