Central Queensland wheat growers banking on higher yields after recent rain

According the Bureau of Meteorology, last week's rain band brought widespread and weekly rainfall totals of 25 to 50 mm across Queensland, with some isolated falls between 50 to 100mm.

In central Queensland, the rain has reinvigorated enthusiasm for winter cropping after a largely drier than average start to winter.

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Fourth generation farmer Scott and Krystal Muller, with his parents Gordon and Jenny, grow wheat and chickpeas in winter and mung beans and sorghum in summer on 800ha of their 1600ha on Karinga, in Biloela.

They planted 500ha of wheat, the Hellfire variety, on May 8 around the Biloela Show time, and 100ha of Barley.

The wheat was planted four inches deep using a single disc planter, a lot deeper than the traditional inch and half growers tend to sow.

Mr Muller said they planted that deep to reach the optimal moisture, on the backdrop of a dryer than average summer.

"This recent rain will ensure the wheat's secondary roots go down," he said.

"It's a technique we call moisture seeking.

"Establishment of the wheat was as good as it could have been and it was probably surprising on some of that stuff we planted deeper."

In early July, the Mullers' wheat received it's first good in crop rainfall, after Karringa received up to 25mm of rain across two days.

"This recent rain was good timing really and if we're lucky enough to snag that rain event again in four weeks time, you'll be laughing," Mr Muller said.

"The wheat's yield would be down otherwise, if this rain hadn't arrived when it did."

Last season, the Mullers' wheat produced a five tonne yield to the hectare, but some was downgraded due to heavy rain at harvest time.

"I think everyone was pretty happy last year yields and everything was unreal," he said.

"A lot of growers, including ourselves, were rained out and had some tonnage downgraded due to moisture.

"We had some paddocks that we couldn't get a header on to harvest because it was too wet."

Karringa has several large grain silos on their farm, which allows them to store grain on farm to forward sell a couple months down the track.

Mr Muller said dry conditions at planting time saw the region's winter cropping plant reduced.

"*I think the overall winter planting area would be down on last season's crop," he said.

"There's growers there that haven't planted, that I suppose were aiming to plant.

"Their fields will just fallow through to summer crops, depending on what season brings.

"If there was some decent rain for spring crops, maybe a bit of spring crop could go in, but otherwise, I think you'll find it a little just fallow through to Christmas time."

Mr Muller acknowledged that in the last two years, they've harvested some of the best winter and summer grain crops, due to above average rainfalls at times of planting.

Karringa also got away with multicropping last season, a practice of growing two or more crops in the same piece of land during one year, instead of just one crop.

"We harvested wheat, planted soy beans, harvested soy beans and went back into wheat again, which is cheeky farming if you ask me, to be able to get away with that," Mr Muller said.

"Take it while you can get it, we had the rains and we had the moisture profile."

In the 2021-22 summer season, Mr Muller said they planted their first dryland cotton on the back of wheat, which was harvested four months prior.

"We just had so much crazy rain after we harvested the wheat at that time," he said,

"To be able to double crop cotton on dryland wheat was very surprising."

They also planted their first cotton in 2021, when there was plenty of soil moisture and when the price for a bale of cotton was at around $800 a bale.

Mr Muller said they were now gearing up to plant dryland cotton and sorghum ahead for summer,

"I'm aiming to plant early this year and I just want to go earlier in the window if I can, so it'll probably be at the end of August into September," he said.

"We planted cotton for the rotation benefits as well and it just helps you control a few different weeds so you utilise different chemistries."

While there has been minimal pressure from insect pests, Mr Muller said their biggest challenge had been managing Kangaroos and wild pigs.

"The Kangaroos cleaned up one hole headland. It's unbelievable what they can do to a freshly established crop," he said.

"Pigs come and go, travelling along creek and river beds, and we have even trapped pigs close to the home.

"We lost 40-50 tonnes of sorghum last season to the pigs within a week."

Mr Muller is also part of AgForce's Young Producers Council Council to help give the younger generation of farmers a voice, and promote agriculture wherever possible.

Along with working in his family operation, he is also a director on the AgForce Queensland grains board.

A commitment to sustainable grain production led to Scott and his wife Krystal to receive the 2023 Australian Summer Grains Conference 'Elders Innovation in Technology' Farmer Award earlier this year.