South Australia’s winter crop production is forecast to reach 8.55mt according to PIRSA, slightly above the 8.3mt forecast from ABARES earlier this month. PIRSA’s latest figures continue the downward trend in barley area since 2019/20, when 990,000ha yielded 2.1mt.   

Rainfall has been patchy, but things are improving. According to grain Producers SA chair John Gladigau, normally reliable regions, such as the south-east, remain extremely dry and are looking for all the rain they can get, “You can only be optimistic and hope that once it starts raining having a little less winter rain in those normally high rainfall zones will be a good thing,” he said.

In Victoria’s western district crops had generally emerged, but more rain would be welcomed. “We can have late breaks at times but it is definitely unusual to be this dry so far into June,” according to Agronomist Craig Drum.