![Barley crop prospects look good in Western Australia this year, but through eastern and southern regions there are concerns with excess rainfall. Barley crop prospects look good in Western Australia this year, but through eastern and southern regions there are concerns with excess rainfall.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/5Q2j7ezUfQBfUJsaqK3gfB/0d503002-fcfa-4d20-86c6-f2b3cc9b354b.jpg/r0_218_4272_2629_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
THE BARLEY industry will be closely monitoring the issue of crop lodging in the lead-up to harvest.
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Heavy rain and wind has battered barley crops in south-eastern Australia over the past month.
Many parts of South Australia and Victoria have experienced record rainfall for September, raising the risk of waterlogging.
Speaking at the Barley Australia barley forum in Adelaide earlier in the month outgoing South Eastern Australia Barley Advisory Council (SEABAC) chairman Geoff Kendell said the crop looked in its best condition in Victoria since 1964.
However, since then he said there had been heavy rain which could have a negative impact in medium and high rainfall zones, while in the drier Mallee region there has been issues with lodging, especially in the Compass variety of barley.
Farmers are hoping yields will hold up in lodged paddocks, but acknowledge it will be difficult to harvest, requiring the use of crop lifters on harvesting equipment.
The possibility of wind rowing barley, formerly a relatively common practice but now virtually obsolete, has also been raised as a way to make harvesting easier and to minimise losses.
Mr Kendell said there had been a shift in the crop composition this season in terms of varieties planted.
“There has been more Scope, LaTrobe, Compass and Westminster planted, while plantings of Hindmarsh, Buloke and Commander have come back.”
He said the wet conditions had meant fungal diseases are a problem.
“Spot form of net blotch and scald are common concerns.”
Paddock access is presently limiting farmers’ ability to control fungal disease outbreaks.
Mr Kendell said the other major concern are the low prices.
Feed barley has been heavily impacted by the worldwide glut of feed grain, with many upcountry bids only around $130 a tonne.
“The price is decreasing and in real terms it is at more than 40 year lows,” Mr Kendell said.
“It is approaching the lows of 1973-74.”
In South Australia, South Australian Barley Advisory Committee (SABAC) chairman Mark Modra said there was concern about the impact of Russian Wheat Aphid (RWA) in barley crops.
“RWA was found here (in South Australia) first and farmers are nervous, especially as it appears barley is the crop most impacted by the pest,” Mr Modra said.
He said farmers on South Australia’s limestone soils were also worried about grading out of snails.
“We can get a fair number of snails in certain areas and the message from export markets, such as the Middle East and China is that they don’t want snails so this could have an impact on exports there.”
Already, China is not taking loads from some South Australian port zones because of the high numbers of snails.
Representatives from northern Australia and Western Australia said fungicide access could be a big issue if fungal disease pressure remained high.
Yield prospects are best in WA, which has enjoyed a near ideal season to date.