REGION - Next to no rainfall during crucial growing periods teamed with crippling frosts have resulted in a below average harvest for farmers across the region.
Yields are generally down on last year's harvest, however the quality of grain has been reasonably good.
Rod Laidlaw, who had barley, wheat and canola crops spread from Yalla-Y-Poora to Tatyoon North, found the yield and quality varied depending on their location.
In particular, canola was hit hard by frosts in late October, with some cut for hay.
Mr Laidlaw said canola yields have ranged from half a tonne to a tonne per hectare in the frost-damaged crops to a tonne and a half per hectare in the areas which escaped frosts.
"The oil levels have also been fairly disappointing, they're below 40 per cent because of the dry and the frost,'' Mr Laidlaw said.
Barley quality had varied between locations.
Mr Laidlaw said most of the barley harvested at Yalla-Y-Poora was feed quality due to frost damage, while barley from Tatyoon returned high yields and quality.
"Historically the difference between feed and malt is about $30 a tonne, this year it's $200 a tonne,'' Mr Laidlaw said.
While wheat yields were affected by the dry weather, quality overall has been very good.
"The test rates have been high and it's been making the grade,'' Mr Laidlaw said.
Following a mere 250 millimetres of rain during the growing season, Mr Laidlaw said the mid-December rains proved a slight bonus for the southern areas.
"Because we're a bit later down here (to harvest), the rain didn't seem to affect the quality,'' Mr Laidlaw said.
"That rain, if anything, probably helped our wheat a bit, but it was no good for anything else.''
Maroona farmer Darren Gellie said yields in this year's harvest was well down on last year's, however quality was reasonable.
"Our oats were pretty good, but the wheat was a bit light on,'' Mr Gellie said.
Harvest commenced just days prior to the dumping of rain received during mid-December, delaying harvest for around a week.
Mr Gellie said the wheat was `nothing special', however the majority of the yield was above feed quality.
"Most of the oats made milling, some oats were feed but they've all been sold off,'' Mr Gellie said.
Quantities of cut hay were also down on last year.
"We didn't get as much as we cut last year because it never rained during the growing periods,'' Mr Gellie said.
"Last year we had that great heap of rain just after the crops were sown which put a lot of moisture in.''
While the 2008/2009 harvest did not break any records, Mr Gellie was relatively pleased with the results.
"It wasn't anything special, but at least we've got something to fill the silos and keep the sheep fed,'' Mr Gellie said.
Looking ahead, Mr Gellie is staying optimistic and hoping for a better year this year.
"We're due for a wet year so we'll keep trying and hopefully it'll come,'' Mr Gellie said.
Prospects around the Lake Bolac region have varied enormously, with farmers to the south faring better than their northern neighbours.
Cr Colin McKenzie said his canola and barley crops were both at about 60 per cent on quality.
"The quality's due to the combination of frost and the dry October,'' Cr McKenzie said.
Having just started harvesting his wheat crops, Cr McKenzie was unsure of what sort of yield he would gain, but hoped mid-December rains had not affected quality.
"The rain held the harvest up by possibly two weeks,'' Cr McKenzie said.
"We thought it might've affected the oil content in the canola but it didn't.''
While quality has been variable, Cr McKenzie said yields were low in what has been a challenging year.
"It's certainly below average when you look at the yields,'' Cr McKenzie said.
"But I'm not complaining because there are so many districts that fared worse than that.''
For Willaura farmer Pat Millear, canola proved the most disappointing of his crops.
"It was frost affected and we baled quite a bit for canola hay,'' Mr Millear said.
The dry September and October also caused the crop grief, which Mr Millear blamed low yields on.
While canola proved disappointing and barley is average, Mr Millear has had some success with his wheat.
"The barley's all going to be feed, the proteins were a bit high,'' Mr Millear said.
"But the wheat we've been taking off has been good quality, it's making APW grade and has good proteins.''
Mid-December rains did not damage the crops but held up harvest for around two weeks, ensuring Mr Millear has another few weeks of work ahead of him.
"We've been getting good quality grain but the yields are down,'' Mr Millear said.
"But that's the nature of farming.''
Remaining the optimist, Mr Millear believed the challenging conditions of the prolonged dry forced farmers to `be a bit smarter' in their farming practices.
Looking ahead, he hopes the 2009/2010 season brings more positives.
"It'll be good to put it away and get on with another season,'' Mr Millear said.
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