Dalby district farmer Derryck Mickelborough is happy with how his 230 hectares of irrigated Borlaug 100 wheat has been growing since it was planted in mid-June.
Mr Mickelborough, in partnership with his wife Anna, farm on their 670 hectare property at Glenesk on Dalby's outskirts, and together they lease and share farm another 300ha.
This season the couple also planted 30ha of irrigated chickpeas, 300ha of dryland wheat and a small area to canary seed.
While the irrigated crops are powering ahead, Mr Mickelborough said like all farmers, his dryland crop was starting to struggle.
"We are certainly looking to the sky for some help," Mr Mickelborough said.
Mr Mickelborough said the soil had already built up an adequate moisture profile from the February rain event, prior to planting.
"Fortunately, we received 38mm of rain in the week after planting," he said.
"That was perfect rain."
Since then the crop has enjoyed another 38mm over two falls in July, and another 39mm in early August, again over two falls.
"These falls were great as they established and set the crop up," he said.
"Since the middle of August there has been no further rain. We have had the irrigation pumps cranked up over the past two weeks and the irrigated crop has enjoyed the equivalent of 80 millimetres of rain."
The Mickelboroughs draw their irrigation supply from the nearby Condamine River, along with harvesting overland flows.
At this stage they have not forward-sold their wheat, but may do so before the November harvest.
This is the first dryland winter crop the couple have planted in several years, swapping from a summer rotation.
"It was mainly because the rains have not arrived at the right time that we decided to make the swap," Mr Mickelborough said.
Their only summer crop last year was a later planted mungbean crop but when the season permits they also grow cotton and sorghum.
The family's small area of chickpeas is part of an experimental trial they are taking part in.
Borlaug wheat is a cut above the rest
Derryck Mickelborough is one of four Australian farmers who are shareholders in the Borlaug 100 wheat variety sourced from CIMMYT, the international maize and wheat improvement centre in Mexico.
Together the farmers Andrew Butler, Condamine, Stephen Gibson, Dulacca, Damien Scanlon, Yelarbon, and Mr Mickelborough have formed their own company, Rebel Seeds, to administer its Australian release.
The variety is named after Dr Norman Borlaug who developed successive generations of wheat varieties with broad and stable disease resistance, broad adaptation to growing conditions across many degrees of latitude, and with exceedingly high yield potential.
Its release marked the centenary of the birth in 1914 of Dr Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
"From our view we discovered there was an opportunity to import into Australia a newer, higher yielding wheat variety which may not have met the normal classification system, which generally is attuned to milling classifications," Mr Mickelborough said.
"It really suits our region, and as our wheat goes into the feed market for feedlots, its high yield is very important for growers.
Mr Mickelborough has been growing the Borlaug 100 variety for the past four years.
"So far it has out-yielded everything else we have tried it against it, and the other shareholders have found the same. Most growers who have given Borlaug 100 a go have been very impressed," he said.
"We have seen Borlaug 100 yield up to 30 per cent better than current popular varieties."
CIMMYT receives funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation.