WHEAT
Wheat is Australia's largest crop. It is produced in all States but primarily on the mainland in a narrow crescent known as the wheat belt. Inland of the Great Dividing Range, the wheat belt stretches in a curve from central Queensland through New South Wales, Victoria and southern South Australia. In Western Australia, the wheat belt continues around the south-west of the State and some way north, along the western side of the continent (see diagram 1).

DIAGRAM 1: WHEAT FOR GRAIN PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA 1996-97




Final estimates for the 1999-2000 season show that wheat production increased by 15% over the 1998-99 season to a record 24.8 million tonnes (table 3). New South Wales recorded the biggest increase in production, up by 31% to 8.6 million tonnes, followed by Victoria which was up by 81% to 2.6 million tonnes.

Western Australia remained the biggest producer of wheat with a record State harvest of 9.0 million tonnes.

Severe drought across Australia more than halved wheat production to 10.1m tonnes in 2002-03. The main falls occurred in NSW where production fell by 69% to 2.5m tonnes and WA where production fell by 48% to 4.0m tonnes. The table below shows that variability in wheat production is part and parcel of the life of the wheat farmer with significant falls in production about every 10 years over the past 100 years.

TABLE 3: WHEAT FOR GRAIN, AREA AND PRODUCTION AREA ('000 ha.)
YEAR NSW
VIC QLD
SA
WA
TAS.
AUST
1994-95 1,424
822
401
1,395
3,848
1
7,891
1995-96 2,328
853
627
1,519
3,892
1
9,221
1996-97 3,192
963
980
1,535
4,264 2
10,936
1997-98 2,936
857
1,001
1,438
4,205 3
10,441
1998-99 3,174
949
1,139
1,762
4,515
4
11,543
1999-00 3,425
1,235
1,096
1,850
4,556
6 12,168
2000-01 3 671
1 143
885
1 976
4 460
7
12 141
2001-02 3 446
1 136
604
1 987
4 350
6 11 529
2002-03 2 995
1 239
514
1 957
4 458
7
11 170
PRODUCTION ('000 t)





1994-95 875
934
225
1,487
5,438
3
8,961
1995-96 4,508
1,921
519
2,724
6,827
4
16,504
1996-97 8,363
2,262
1,980
2,795
7,516
8  22,925
1997-98 5,906
1,503
1,392
2,689
7,725
12
19,227
1998-99 6,563
1,462
1,941
3,310
8,170
18
21,465
1999-00 8,602
2,642
1,904
2,586
9,004
20
24,757
2000-01 7 867
3 080
1 157
4 162
5 814
26
22 108
2001-02 8 043
2 791
901
4 778
7 760
25
24 299
2002-03 
2 495 
 890 601 
2 072 4 047
 25
10 132


Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).






Wheat is a popular cash crop because it has a reliable export market and a price support system. However, it is often rotated with other cash crops for example, oats which provide fodder for conservation. Australian wheat production has long been characterised by high production per man hour and low production per hectare. The area of crop per man employed is about 120 hectares for the main wheat growing areas. This low labour ratio is a result of early mechanization of the harvest operations and therefore, wheat production has become concentrated in those areas best suited to farm machinery.

The industry has been attracted to large areas of easily cleared, cheap, level to undulating land with soil types suitable for the operation of large cultivating machines. Further, a dry, hot summer allows the use of heading machinery. These have been the main considerations in determining the location of the present cereal areas and illustrates the importance of the technology environment on the agricultural system. However, within the wheatbelt there are great variations in soil type and climate.


WHEAT VARIETIES IN SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA













A NUMBER OF HEADERS AND TRUCKS ARE USED IN A
COORDINATED EFFORT TO HARVEST THE WHEAT IN LARGE PADDOCKS IN WESTERN NSW. THE AIM IS TO HARVEST AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO SAVE COSTS AND ANY DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS FROM THE WEATHER




A TYPICAL HEADER, HARVESTING WHEAT. WITH MINOR MODIFICATIONS THE SAME HEADER CAN BE USED TO HARVEST CANOLAHIGH SPRING TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITIES


 

High spring temperatures and high air moisture content in the northern wheat belt of NSW makes rust resistance an essential characteristic of the cereal varieties in use. However, in the southern districts, conditions suitable for rust epidemics are not as frequent.

SOILS

Wheat can be grown on a wide range of soils and it is doubtful if soil type can be regarded as being greatly significant in determining the location of cereal areas. The physical characteristics of the soil has been investigated in great detail and it has been found that the most desirable soil is a free working surface soil with a good retentive subsoil. The former is important for efficient and cheap operation of large cultivation implements and the latter controls the amount of moisture conservation possible.

The best loams have been farmed to cereals for over a century and have maintained their structure and productivity. On either side of such optimal conditions are soils which although satisfactory in the early years of the cultivation, have subsequently become inferior in both of these features.

For example, sandy soils which under regular cultivation have become liable to serious wind erosion and on the other hand, heavy clay soils whose loss of structure has resulted in such high cultivation costs that many have been returned to pasture.

METHODS OF CULTIVATION

The most outstanding factor in Australia is the fact that 50% of the crop is sown on cultivated fallow land.

The term fallow in this case applies to land which receives its initial cultivation in the winter or early spring and is maintained in weed free condition for a period of 6-9 months until the crop is sown in the following autumn. The benefits derived from this practice are:

However, these advantages accrue only where the fallowing process has begun early enough to conserve the rainfall and nitrification of the previous spring. In the more favoured districts where autumn rains can be relied upon, the period under fallow can be reduced and the initial cultivation deferred until February of the year in which the crop is sown.

Such a practice is called "short fallow" and is used quite effectively in the northern portion of the Australian wheat belt which receives monsoonal rains.

WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NSW

Australia produced 12 168 000 tonnes of wheat in 1999-00 with more than 25% coming from NSW. There are over 20 000 wheat growing properties in NSW few of which rely exclusively on wheat for income. All the properties are situated within an area which extends from Queensland to the Victorian border and is known as the wheat belt - see diagram 2.







THE GRAIN HANDLING SYSTEM SHOWS THE LOCATION OF
THE WHEAT BELT IN NSW.





Because of the climate and topography this is the only part of the state suitable for wheat growing. The area varies from season to season but has remained steady in recent years. – see table 3.

Some wheat farms are owned by large companies but most are owned and worked by private farmers with the help of modern agricultural methods and machinery. Wheat is sown using a combination seed and fertilizer drill drawn behind a tractor. Sowing usually takes place between early April and late July and varies from region to region.

The crops mature between October and December and are harvested immediately. This is done with machines called "headers", which strip the heads from their stalks separating grain from chaff in the process.
The grain is usually loaded straight from the header into lorries waiting in the field and taken directly to a nearby storage centre operated by the Grain Handling Authority (GHA). A small quantity is retained on the
farm for next year's seed and stock feed.


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