FATHER and son duo Chris and Will Hewitt said sowing has got off to an ideal start at their Warracknabeal property.
They have just begun sowing canola, and said because of good moistures in the ground, they were able to kick things off right on time.
“The first week of May is the ideal time to be sowing most of our crops, and it’s the first day of May, and we started sowing seriously this morning,” Chris Hewitt said.
“We’ve sown some sheep feed, some vetch, but we’re putting in the first paddock of canola now.”
He said it was all thanks to the rain they received throughout April.
“We’ve had a good April break, you usually receive an inch and a half of rain in a break month, and we had nearly three inches in April,” he said.
“By the second week of May, if it hadn’t rained, you’d be thinking about starting to sow some dry, just so you had some in, but this year, because it rained, we’ve gone in with a lot of confidence.
“It means we can go in and kill some weeds, put some sprays out, and do other things like that.”
He said as long as they receive some follow up rain, they will be on track to be finished by the end of the month.
“Rule of thumb is that we’d get started sowing wheat by May 15, canola is just a bit more frost resilient, so we can get that started a bit earlier without too much risk,” he said.
“We need some follow up rains, but it’s good to get sowing.
“We’re doing about 10 hectares an hour, without stopping, and if we continue going with no hold ups, we should be done in three to four weeks.”
He said if the season continues the way it is going, they would be set up to have as good of a year as last.
“Last year was fantastic, the harvest was great,” he said.
“We had a very good spring, the rain came at a good time.
“We’re always looking for October rain, and this was the first time we’d had a wet October in 10-15 years.”
