Judging of the district wheat crops entered into the Kaniva A & P Society competition was conducted on Monday November 20th by Hamish Mines – Agronomy Teacher Longerenong College/ Agronomist Driscoll Ag.
Twenty crops were entered in the competition for 2023 made up of 5 Durum and 15 bread type wheats, 7 on heavy ground, 7 on mixed ground and 1 on light ground. An even spread of crops were inspected from Lawloit to South Lillimur, Serviceton and north to Dinyarrak.
The overall best bread wheat crop was grown by W.L. & L.M. Hawker at their Dinyarrak property on mixed soil. Their heavy crop of Sceptre wheat, sown on chemical fallow, was well headed and free of weeds. They will receive $1,000 of free brokerage from Market Check . The Kaniva A & P Society would like to thank Market Check for their generous Sponsorship.
The best Durum crop was grown by Eastwood Family Farms with a promising new variety, Patron. The outstanding crop had large heads and high yield potential.
Wayne, Lisa, Kane and Zoe’s crop will now be judged against the other winning Wimmera crops at the W.A.S.A. level. We wish them every success in this competition.
The Hawker family will be presented with the Geoffrey Hawker Memorial shield and the Eastwood family with the Alexander H. Wallis Memorial shield at the Kaniva annual show in October 2024.
Hamish gave the following commentary and results:
Agronomics:
Excellent crop husbandry by all participants and it was very difficult to allocate the overall winners as such even crops were presented. Notable in most crops was sowing row gaps with no plants surviving (5-20cm gaps). This is thought to be a seasonal phenomenon caused by a dry start following by a wet sowing, then a cold wet early winter. Similar germination issues have been identified in other Wimmera regions. Snails are building in some crops after successive good years. Ryegrass resistance issues are being managed well with only some escapes observed and the occasional patch. As always the Durum looks impressive and I wish everyone the best for harvest.
Ground Truthing (Yield) Kaniva/Wimmera:
- Durum Wheat – NVT Trial Yields 2018- 2022. Range 3.78t- 4.93t = 4.3lt/ha AV
- Mid-Season Wheat – NVT Trial Yields 2019 – 2022. Range 4.56t – S.27t = 4.94t/ha AV
Congratulations to all those who nominated crops and participated. The crops were all impressive considering we lacked a finishing rain. I always enjoy coming back to my original agronomy area that I so much enjoyed.
The Kaniva A & P Society sincerely thank Hamish for making his time available to judge our competition and to the entrants for offering their crops. Your support ensures an ongoing and successful competition.
| Outstanding Crops | |
| Wheat – Durum | Wheat – Mixed |
| 1. Eastwood Family Farms – Patron | 1. WL & LM Hawker – Sceptre |
| 2. Tyson Vivian – Aurora | 2. Mordialloc Farms – Cailbre |
| 3. Hannaton P’Ship – Aurora | 3. WL & LM Hawker – Vixen |
| Wheat – Heavy | Wheat – Light |
| 1. Darren Hawker – Sceptre | 1. Billy Crouch – Calibre |
| 2. Billy Crouch – Cailbre | |
| 3. Paul Wallis – Reilly | |
| Overall Best Bread Wheat – WL & LM Hawker – Sceptre (Mixed) |
This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 6 December 2023.
