It's been a dry year after a very wet year last season. We have had only 450 mills for the whole year, which is way behind average.
We started planting sorghum on the 21st October, and it took about 10 days. It went in nicely and has germinated fine without any rain. We have not had a drop now for about 5 weeks, but big rain is forecast for the next week.
A photo of our sorghum crop, planted 3 weeks ago,...
My wheat crop has had only 160 mills total since it was planted. Last years crop had constant rain, and about 550 mills. But last years wheat crop had way too much rain and was one of the worst we'd ever grown. This years wheat crop could have done with a bit more, but it will be far better than last years waterlogged disease ridden one.
It has finished filling, and is starting to rippen. The rain that is forecast for this week shouldn't downgrade the quality yet, as the grain is still soft and moist and a bit green.
As this wheat crop has only had 160 mills since planting, it has mostly been growing on stored soil water. There would have been 250 to 300 mills stored in the soil before planting, and this is mostly what the crop grew on and is why it will have a pretty good yield. This crop should have yielded 5 tonnes per hectare had it got a bit of rain a few weeks ago. It still might go that yet, as it doesn't seem to have suffered at all, but I think the yield will be less than 5 now.
As the crop sucks all the water out of the black soil, the soil cracks open. Photo of cracked open soil.
These cracks will fill in again once the crop is taken off and rain fills the soil profile in the fallow period, and then once again the next crop will use up the next 250 to 300 mills stored in the soil. This soil type is just like a great big sponge. It's a good thing too when it cracks open like this, as it's good for soil structure and letting air and nutrients get down deep into the profile.
This soil will hold way more water than most other arable soils anywhere in the world. It occures in northern NSW and the Darling Downs of QLD. Also in a few other places in Australia and the world. It's ideal for growing crops in an area that gets the amount of rain I do, as in 600 to 700 mills per year of summer dominant rain. But it's prone to water logging in a wet season or wet winter, and it would be terrible soil in an area that gets say a 1000 mills or more per year, and would probably just turn into a useless swampy area.
See ya's.
