Stop-start to harvest at Spencers Brook, but barley looks good

Clear skies signalled the start of harvest at the Lawrence family’s Southern Brook farm last week, with a bumper barley crop the first to go through the header.

Nathan and Kylie Lawrence rolled out the header, chaser bins and field bins last Wednesday for a tentative start to harvest.

The pair were feeling optimistic about yields but cautious of moisture present within the barley crop after notching up an exceptional 572mm of rainfall this year.

The significant rainfall total provided some reprieve after last year’s annual total of just 240mm, which was well down on their 350mm annual average.

Flash flooding in March kicked off an “amazing” cropping year for the family, with 150mm falling in the first week of March.

It was the biggest rainfall event Mr Lawrence had ever seen in his life and left streets and paddocks throughout the Avon Valley looking like rivers.

Local leaders said it had been a decade since Northam had experienced similar flooding, with more than 400km of roads damaged, at a cost of $2 million.

For Mr Lawrence, losing 500m of fences across more than 15 creek crossings and having “sheep going everywhere” for a few days was well worth the significant subsoil moisture the deluge left behind.

“Without that storm, we would have had about our average of 350mm,” he said.

“But it really started an amazing year. The rain has just doubled our yield.”

The 150mm set the scene for an April 20 start to seeding, with barley and canola dry sown and energised by 35mm at the start of May.

A very wet winter has been welcome relief after an unusually dry year for the Avon region last year, with Northam and Toodyay both at least 50mm below average.

“We would have been sitting at about a decile 0.5 last year, whereas this year would be a decile nine... we have gone from one extreme to the other,” Mr Lawrence said.

“But that is the nature of farming. The dry last year was a bit of a shock for people in the Avon region last year, because this is normally a really reliable area.”

Parts of the farm that were “write-offs” last year — with one canola paddock yielding just 200kg/t — are this year expected to yield between 2t for canola and 4t for wheat during harvest.

Some patches of crops have been impeded by waterlogging, but Mr Lawrence said most were “still yielding” and were outweighed by good yields on lighter soil.

“Anything sown later than April got a little bit of waterlogging, because the rain started in March and just didn’t stop,” he said.

“Crops sown early are looking really good, but anything put in late has really struggled.

“There will be a few spots through the program where it got too wet and the weeds took over, and some parts where the crop was so wet it just died.”

The Lawrences feel grateful to have dodged the significant frost events that shattered some growers’ hopes to the west of them.

“Last year there were no good patches on our farm, so I will take a few waterlogged areas and no frost this year,” he said.

And while last year’s dry conditions had them feeling “gun shy” about spending, Mr Lawrence said he had his eyes on buying a truck for carting grain next year.

A ceramic tiler by trade, fourth-generation farmer Mr Lawrence moved to Northam seven years ago after years of helping at harvest.

He met his wife Kylie in town, and the rest is history.

Their three young boys Veejay, 7, Mack, 4, and Marley, three months, love their life on the farm. Mr Lawrence’s parents Alan and Cheryl are still actively involved, “keeping the books rolling” and helping to run the cropping and sheep farm.

On the header this harvest are Alan and Nathan, and their neighbour and landlord Kerry Saunders — from whom they lease 2000ha.

The Lawrences own 2500ha and lease the rest from Mr Saunders, cropping 1500ha a year and leaving 2000ha for sheep.

They crop land once run by Mr Lawrence’s great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father, and now also run Canternatting stud.

This year, their cropping program includes 750ha of wheat, 310ha of barley, 160ha of canola, 160ha of lupins and 50ha of oats.

In a sign of a good season, Mr Lawrence said he had “filled the shed” after cutting just 10ha of oats for hay — whereas last year the shed was full after 40ha was cut.

Sheep play an important part in their program, with Canternatting comprising about 2000 Poll Dorsets which have become in hot demand.

The family’s commercial flock includes 1000 Merino and Poll Dorset ewes targeting wool and meat.

It has been a successful year for the stud, with about 40 rams sold under the hammer at the family’s annual ram sale in September.