Rain halts harvest

An early break to the season has enabled West Pingelly farmer David Parsons to start his harvest program earlier than usual this year.

But cool weather and a sprinkling of rain last Friday, and thunderstorms earlier in the week, has meant progress has been somewhat slow.

"We have been able to start harvest about a week earlier than usual, but we are in 'go-slow' mode," Mr Parsons said.

"We haven't had particularly warm weather and there's been heavy dews in the morning, so we've really only been harvesting in the afternoons so far."

A small amount of rain on Friday morning and earlier this week was not enough to cause damage to crops, but it did further halt progress.

Mr Parsons, who farms with wife Erin on the Mainstay Farm, said last weekend he was about halfway through harvesting his non-GM canola crop, yielding between 1.4 tonnes and 1.9 tonnes a hectare with oil content of between 44.5 per cent and 47 per cent.

He said although these are decent yields, he expected they would be about 250kg/ha higher because of the generous and well-timed 364mm of rainfall that has fallen throughout the growing season.

For several years, Mr Parsons has been spraying the Lure H20 wetting agent on his cropping land prior to the opening rains.

He said this proves beneficial to the non-wetting gravelly soils of his area by helping to retain moisture.

"We've had good rainfall over the last few seasons so the benefits have not been as obvious," he said.

"But in the drier seasons this really comes into its own and significantly boosts yields."

In addition to the canola crop, Mr Parsons grows wheat, barley and oats, and runs a Merino and crossbred sheep enterprise.

"The highlight for the season for us has been the excellent pastures," said Mr Parsons, whose family have been farming in the district for many generations.

"Crops have fared well but the pastures have been particularly good; probably our best ever which has provided significant benefits in terms of our capacity to run stock."