AUSTRALIA is on track to harvest a near-record winter grain crop of 61.9 million tonnes, according to Rabobank’s 2022/23 Australian Winter Crop Forecast.
But what will be a record for some farmers will be heartbreak for others, due to the impacts of excessive rainfall on grain volume, yield and quality in parts of the country.
In the newly-released report, the specialist agribusiness bank says despite the weather challenges, the nation is set to harvest its third consecutive bumper winter crop.
Forecast to be down only one per cent on last year – which broke all-time production records – the total grain crop is estimated to be 41 per cent above the five-year average.
But it won’t be good news for all, the report says.
While farmers in some parts of Australia will “reap record or near-record crops”, others in areas across New South Wales and Victoria are facing “yield, volume and quality downgrades due to excessive rains, washed out fields and unharvestable crops”.
Nationally, Rabobank forecasts wheat production to come in at 35.5 million tonnes – down two per cent on last year, but 47 per cent above the five-year average.
Barley production is expected to reach a record 14.8 million tonnes, up seven per cent on last season and 31 per cent above the five-year average.
The canola crop is forecast to reach a record 7.2 million tonnes, also a seven per cent increase on the previous year and a whopping 81 per cent up on the five-year average.
