Victorian crop growers prepare for hotter, drier conditions

Last week the Bureau of Meteorology declared an El Nino event was underway in the Pacific Ocean, bringing with it warmer-than-average weather until at least the end of summer.

As a result, growers are being urged to get prepared for the upcoming warmer weather by knowing the critical stress periods of their crops.

AGRIvision agronomy consultant Brett Ainsworth, who predominantly works with growers in the Woomelang, Nullawil and Quambatook regions, said moisture was going to be key in the months ahead.

"Converting moisture in a dry year is crucial," he said.

"The rain's been pretty good so far up this way and we haven't had many days over 34 degrees which can really take a toll on crops.

"We've had up to 30 degrees but that's been bearable given the good subsoil moisture this year.

"At least the crops are making the most of the wet from last year."

He encouraged growers to be vigilant about timing.

"If there are any summer weeds you need to control, get onto them in a two to four-week period after they come out," he said.

"If we manage to get a thunderstorm any time over summer, be prepared to spray two to three weeks after rain."

But Mr Ainsworth said growers had already been factoring drying conditions into their decision making.

"They've been talking about [an El Nino] all of this year so people have really had that in the back of their minds when they started their cropping seasons this year," he said.

"But we've managed to get away with it so far given there's been a fair bit of subsoil moisture leftover from last year."

He said growers might make different decisions for next year's crop.

"We may not have as much subsoil moisture in the ground next year so it will definitely be a different outlook," he said.

"There might be less canola put in up in my patch and maybe a few more cereals which tend to be a bit-more consistent in drier years.

"But there's still positivity up here in that we've had a good run for the last few seasons and things are still looking good."

Culgoa grower Georgina Warne said her canola, wheat and barley crops were "drinking a fair bit" of the "excellent" subsoil moisture each day.

"This time last year, it started raining and forgot to stop," she said.

"We had around 180 millimetres for spring and the start of summer, which was basically our annual rainfall in two months.

"We thought it would never dry out, but fortunately, we've carried a lot of that moisture into this year with a pretty-heavy summer spraying program to conserve as much as possible."

She said the wet weather prompted a few changes to her operation this year.

She resisted growing oaten hay for the first time in a few years.

"Last year water was running over the cutter bar and for me, I just needed a break from the old oaten hay but the way the season's finishing, it'll be a phenomenal year hopefully for everyone that is baling hay in the next few weeks," she said.

"I wish them all the best and yeah, I actually got a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out)."