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| south australia |
 After a promising start to the season, prospects in South Australia declined throughout the winter cropping season. Rainfall was predominantly below average across the whole state. However, rainfall varied from well below average on the Eyre Peninsula to below average in most remaining areas. Conditions from August through to October were particularly bad, where lack of rain was combined with high temperatures and gale force winds, putting additional stress on crops. Harvesting has been completed, and while yields have been extremely variable, they have often been better than expected, particularly for crops that were sown early. However, grain quality has been a concern, with wheat generally faring better than barley. Rainfall late in October interrupted harvest but was beneficial to late maturing crops. The Department of Primary Industries and Resources South Australia estimates that around 25 000 hectares of winter cereal crops were cut for hay, largely because of frost damage and the prospect of poor grain yields. However, many growers were reluctant to cut crops for hay because of high grain prices and lack of crop density. The 2007-08 winter grain harvest increased 77 per cent from the previous season to 4.9 million tonnes. While this estimate is a significant increase on the previous year’s drought reduced harvest, it is still close to 30 per cent below the five year average. The area planted to wheat in South Australia is estimated to have fallen by 4 per cent to 2.1 million hectares in 2007-08. Despite the poor seasonal conditions, wheat yields improved from the previous year, but were still below average. Total wheat production in South Australia is estimated to have been 2.4 million tonnes in 2007-08. Barley production in 2007-08 is estimated to have been 1.8 million tonnes, 80 per cent higher than in 2006-07. The increased production reflects both a slight increase in the area sown to barley and an increase in yields. The area planted to canola in South Australia in 2007-08 is estimated at around 160 000 hectares, down 5 per cent from 2006-07. Total canola production is estimated to have been 155 000 tonnes in 2007-08, around 90 per cent higher than the 2006-07 harvest. Oil content was good, ranging from 38 per cent to over 42 per cent. |
| winter crop estimates, 2007-08 | ||||
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area |
yield a |
production |
production change from 2006-07 |
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`000 ha |
t/ha |
kt |
% |
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| wheat | 2 068 |
1.16 |
2 400 |
67 |
| barley | 1 170 |
1.51 |
1 772 |
80 |
| canola | 160 |
0.97 |
155 |
91 |
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| a yields are based on area planted. | ||||