The Kaniva A&P Society conducted another successful crop competition in November attracting a good variety of entries from across the district.

The Best Bread Wheat Crop was awarded to Feder Farming, represented by Mathew Feder. The Feders will receive $1000 worth of free brokerage from our generous sponsors, Market Check, and will be presented with the Geoffrey Hawker Memorial shield at next year’s Kaniva Show. The Tink family, Ian, Spotty and Brad, were awarded the Best Durum Crop for the second year running. Their prize is $1000 in cash from our other generous sponsor, the San Remo Macaroni Company. They will retain the Alexander H. Wallis Memorial shield at the Kaniva Show next year.

The Kaniva A&P Society sincerely thank Hamish Mines and Jayden Hendy for their time and skills in judging the crops and thank Brett Jewell for helping on the day. We also sincerely appreciate the generosity of our prize donors, Market Check and San Remo Macaroni Company and thank our growers for supporting the competition with their crop entries.

Hamish has prepared the following report.

Kaniva A&P Society – Crop Competition 2025: Wheat results and report

Introduction

The Kaniva A&P Society held its annual Crop Competition for 2025, focusing on wheat entries from across the district. Key representatives involved in the event included Brett Jewell (Kaniva A&P Society), Hamish Mines (Agronomy/Agribusiness Teacher, Longerenong College), and Jaden Hendy (Nutrien Ag Kaniva).

Judging overview

Crop judging took place on Wednesday, 5 November 2025, slightly earlier than usual due to judge availability. Most crops were at mid grain fill with prominent flag leaves, rather than the typical mid-late grain fill and haying off seen in previous years. There were 21 crop entries: 3 Durum, 7 Heavy, 8 Mixed, and 3 Light. The judging covered a wide area, from Lawloit through to the Border, ensuring full representation of the district.

Despite a late break in the season, crops showed strong yield potential. Yield estimates taken during judging averaged 3.52 tonnes, down from 4.57 tonnes in 2024. However, finishing rains in late November are expected to improve yields above the average assessed on the judging day. Notably, the health and presentation of all crops were impressive across various soil types, making judging particularly difficult. Crops on both the East and West sides of Kaniva performed equally well.

Agronomic observations

Crop husbandry remained at a high standard across all entries, with no frost damage observed. Snails were present in a few crops, more than last year, and ryegrass management continued effectively, although some resistant patches were identified. The Durum wheat entries stood out for their large grain heads and awns, with good grain fill occurring. We hope that protein specifications will be met at harvest.

The Shotgun Wheat variety also drew attention, as judged on Dyers North Servy Block. Entrants are encouraged to follow the NVT results for further insights on this new variety.

Outstanding crops

Closing comments

It was encouraging to see new entrants in this year’s competition. The outstanding crops for each category are detailed in the tables above. Special congratulations go to the Tinks for winning Best Durum on bean stubbles for the second year in a row, and to the Feder’s Sceptre, grown following vetch, which won Best Bread Wheat and will represent in the Regional Competition.

Thanks are extended to Brett Jewell for his support on the day, Daryl Wallis for his background work, and Jaden Hendy, who assisted as a judge contributing to his Diploma of Applied Agronomy studies at Longerenong College.

After a long association with Longerenong College, I will soon be finishing and have commenced a new role with CropLife/Agsafe https://www.croplife.org.au/ and https://www. agsafe.org.au/.

I hope to still be able to help again next year.

Wishing everyone a successful harvest and a festive season.

Best regards
Hamish

This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 17 December 2025.