Improvements buffer the downside of dry years in Australia

The total grain production in the 2023 season in Western Australia of 14.5 million tonnes was nearly 50 per cent lower than the record years of 2022 and 2021. For many growers, total rainfall received in 2023 was well down on 2019 rainfall, when 11.3mt were produced on a similar area of crop sown. In the 2023 grain season wrap up, released this week by the Grain Industry Association of WA (GIWA), it said subtle improvements in production systems were tending to buffer the downside of these poor years and push grain yields well beyond previous records in good seasons. The five-year average (2019-23) WA grain production is 18mt, and the previous five-year average (2014-18) is 3mt less at 15.2 million tonnes. GIWA said while there was more crop area being sown than 10 years ago, the increased variability of rainfall events has forced growers to change their production systems to adapt to the changing weather patterns, and this is clearly showing up in the production figures. "Grain ...