The self-confessed “most ordinary farmer in the district” – Tempy’s Mike Robertson – was reluctant to say what returns he expected from this year’s bumper season.
Mr Robertson, who is a third generation cropper, said he liked to keep things fairly simple, sticking to growing wheat, barley and lupins.
He added he didn’t take life too seriously and claimed to get his best advice from an unusual source.
“I would be one of the very few around who wouldn’t have an agronomist, because I can go to the Patchewollock pub,” he said.
“The best agronomy sessions in the world are at the Patche Pub, but the yields go up by half a tonne a hectare, every hour you spend there.
“If you get there at midnight, they are all about five tonnes a hectare.”
He said while he didn’t keep rainfall records – “it’s either wet, or it’s dry” - the area around Tempy had received around 150 millimetres, in August and September.
That had set up the district for a magnificent season, although the record harvest, worldwide, would depress prices.
“Things as never as good as they look and never as bad as they seem, either,” he said.
‘If you do the same thing consistently, all the time, you won’t falter too much.”
He said the property Pine View, a 1500 hectare property, was settled in 1921 – “I was the youngest of four brothers, and I took over,” he said.
The best agronomy sessions in the world are at the Patche Pub, but the yields go up by half a tonne a hectare, every hour you spend there. If you get there at midnight, they are all about five tonnes a hectare.
- Mike Robertson, Tempy
Lupins, Yitpi wheat and Hindmarsh barley were grown on the property, with Mr Robertson also agisting sheep. The barley went F1 while Mr Robertson said he was hoping for ASW (Australian Standard White) wheat, “with the odd load of APW (Australian Premium Wheat).”
“I try to keep it fairly simple, because I actually do other work, off farm,” he said.
“I try and grow the most crop for minimal input.”
That includes using autosteer with direct drill sowing, but not tram-lining.
“When you use spray on the same lines it powders up the dirt, and I was having these eroded gutters, so now I mix it up and don’t spray the same lines,” Mr Robertson said.
“It makes it easier; I don’t think it makes us any money – wheat doesn’t grow any better in a straight line, than a crooked line.”
Treflan was used as a pre-emergent herbicide, but at the sparing rate of 1.2litres per hectare.
“I think our maximum residual levels are going to cause lots of problems, in the future,” he said.
“When Roundup came out, they were using 250ml a hectare and getting a complete kill, now we are putting on two litres a hectare, so there are definitely issues there.”
He said he used MAP at 55kg per hectare, with the lupins receiving 80kg/ha.
“I don’t spread any urea, it’s one hit, and that’s it, which is pretty basic.”
He said dairy farmers were taking a lot of his wheat, “straight off the header,” while other parts of the crop were going into storage in Geelong and Lascelles.
“I try to sell a third of it, sit on a third of it and sell a third of it, at harvest,” he said.
The barley was in a bunker, at Speed.
He said his header driver, Tim Sharp, turned up looking for work, so he had him trained to help out on the property.
“We have a lot of fun, enjoy it, and try not to get stressed,” he said.
“I realise how lucky we are - there is no better feeling than sowing a crop, seeing it emerge, the preparation that goes before that, and to actually strip a good crop, is very satisfying. If you think every season is going to be a ripper, you are going to be sadly disappointed.”
