A yield calculator can help Australian farmers make critical frost decisions

Heavy frost, particularly in September, has cruelled crop prospects across southern Australia, with SA, Victoria and the Riverina especially hard hit. Tough decisions need to be made as to whether farmers proceed to take the crop through to grain, knowing there will be a yield penalty, along with potential quality downgrades or to try and generate an alternative income by cutting the crop for hay. Agriculture Victoria seasonal risk agronomist Dale Boyd said with crops currently in grain fill in much of the southern cropping zone now was the critical time to assess for damage. He said farmers could use various methods of assessment or yield calculation but said Ag Vic had come up with its own yield estimate tool which could give growers a relatively accurate yield estimate in a short period of time. "There are many methods available for farmers to estimate yield of various crops, from quick and relatively straight forward to more detailed and complex methods,' Mr Boyd said. 'The Ag ...