GROWERS across south-eastern Australia are making some challenging decisions about the future of winter crops hit by a series of frosts over the past fortnight.

Depending on the severity and extent of frost on already moisture-stressed crops, the need for fodder, and the outlook for hay and grain prices, frosted crops are being partially or fully cut for hay, sprayed out, grazed out, or deemed worth taking through to harvest.

The impacted area extends from southern New South Wales to south-west Victoria, and to South Australia’s western Eyre Peninsula, making it the geographically biggest frost event to hit south-eastern Australia since 2011.

It has sparked a flurry of crop tours from traders, brokers and end-users keen to gauge the extent of damage first-hand, and a quick reaction from industry organisations.

They include Mallee Sustainable Farming, which held a frost-identification webinar on Wednesday, and Agriculture Victoria, which yesterday released some pointers on cutting failed crops for hay or silage.

In a statement released yesterday to growers, Grain Producers SA chair John Gladigau called a spade a spade.

“It’s not a word we like to hear, but the South Australian grain industry is undeniably experiencing a drought,” Mr Gladigau said.

“In fact, the frosts, winds and dry conditions have had such a severe impact that many reports coming into GPSA are that this year has seen the worst rainfall on their farms since the 1900s.

“The full extent of the impact of this isolated drought on South Australia (and Victoria) won’t be known for some months but we all know it is tough.”

While crop damage is front of mind, organisations including GPSA and MSF are encouraging growers and advisors to take care of themselves as the reality of low-yielding crops shows us all the power of the weather.

“Being impacted by frost can be a very emotional time, and we all encourage growers to work with their trusted network to seek help and support,” MSF project manager Paige Cross told Wednesday’s webinar.

She said the Better Frost Decisions Facebook group, the Grains Research and Development Corporation website, and Lifeline and Rural Financial Counselling services could all be places to turn.

“It’s very challenging at the moment.”

Further insights into the management of frosted crops are likely in the near future from organisations including GRDC, which is  expected to hold a webinar on salvage options for frost and moisture-stressed crops at a date to be advised.

Promise from pulses

Supported by the GRDC Better Frost Decisions project, the MSF webinar delivered insights from five experts, including MSF’s Dr Penny Roberts on pulses.

Dr Roberts has been inspecting pulse crops in SA’s Murray-Mallee and in north-west Vic. and Vic post frost, and said pulses generally exhibit damage within days, and well before cereals, in terms of burnt tops and aborted flowers.

“The thing that you won’t see…is that discolouration in the seed,” Dr Roberts said.

“There is widespread frost damage across a lot of those regions.”

She gauges frost damage in pulses based on the crop’s growth stage, at varying locations in paddock, and between the rate of viable versus non-viable flowers.

Provided adequate soil moisture is available, Dr Roberts said pulses’ ability to reflower in 2-3 weeks after the frost and fill grain should not be discounted.

She said crops frosted at podding need more detailed assessment and consideration.

Outside of the webinar, agronomists have said that based on current prices of around $1000/t for lentils, even crops yielding less than 1t/ha could pay for themselves.

White sands vulnerable on EP

On Eyre Peninsula, Bates Agricultural Consulting agronomist Michael Hind said minimum temperatures down to minus 6.5 degrees Celsius and significant periods of cold have been recorded in the past fortnight.

“There has been quite a bit of damage,” Mr Hind said.

“We’ve had some stem frost this year, which is a bit unusual; mostly it’s head and flowering frost.”

“We’ve also had significant areas of vegetative frost in lentils, and we’ve also been experiencing it in the canola, which we didn’t see last year.”

On wheat, Mr Hind has been looking at colour change evident 5-7 days after frost, namely white tipping, which is indicative of moisture stress and not frost.

He said if wheat crops turn lime green within 10 days from the first significant frost, they may well best be cut for hay.

White instead of green anthers are another indication that crops are “probably frosted.”

“A lot of the crop on the EP had only just finished flowering or is at the grain-fill stage, so what we’re seeing is the lighter colour change on that.”

He said crops that have been severely frosted can reshoot from the base.

“Barley tends to have a lot better frost tolerance, and you don’t get flowering frost; it tends to be more a grain frost.”

“I don’t think from an EP point of view that we’ll cut a lot of barley at the moment.

“Most of the barley crops, while they may have some frost damage, should be okay.”

“At this point in time, I think it’s probably going to be more wheat that ends up getting cut.”

Canola frost can only be seen by splitting pods, and Mr Hind said damage varies highly within paddocks.

“I don’t think at this point in time we’ll cut many lentil crops.

“I know the Yorke Peninsula has had much more severe frosts than we’ve had here, and some lentils have been really devastated over there, so some guys will possibly cut lentils for hay over there.”

He said hay prices this year look okay in comparison to what the grain return might be on a heavily frosted crop.

“A lot of hay sheds, particularly on the EP, are empty, so there will be a demand for hay.”

EP is not normally a major producer of hay, and Mr Hind said those cutting it need to look after it to maximise its value.

“I really encourage guys, particularly on the EP, if you’re cutting hay, make sure you cover it, and make sure you get a feed test so you know what you’ve got.

“A lot of frosted hay is generally very high in carbohydrate and protein and makes very good feed.”

He said crops were being sprayed out to start the fallow phase to accumulate any rain in the profile from here on in, and to avoid the risk of tillers shooting and running to head.

On cereal inspection, Mr Hind said positive signs were white seed or liquid coming from squeezed heads, whereas dry or brown seed or dry heads indicated unviable grain.

He said staggered germination, as seen this year, and varying soil types as well as topography influenced the severity of frost damage, and crops on white sands were particularly vulnerable because they retained less heat in the ground.

He said canola crops planted in the red, or frost-prone zones, were probably a “50-50 option” to cut for hay or take through to grain.

Down to -8 in Mallee

At Loxton in SA’s Murray Mallee, Elders agronomist Brian Lynch said logged temperatures got to as low as -8°C at 40cm above the ground in the lowest part of a paddock, with frost creeping up on to slopes.

“We’ve been snotted with a very severe frost event, almost a once in a generation in some parts,” Mr Lynch said.

“We’re having to look at hay and trying to recoup some income and deal with all the social, mental, and financial sort of factors that come with that.”

Mr Lynch said severe stem frosting has occurred in low-lying areas from around -3°C, while harder-to-diagnose head frost was more evident further up the slope.

He said a second pair of eyes was important in deciding what to do with frosted crops.

“I’d still really encourage everyone on the farm to bring someone out…to help you get it right.”

“You don’t want to be cutting stuff you don’t have to, and you don’t want to be driving a header later and being disappointed.”

Mr Lynch said the economics for continuous croppers in getting paddocks baled needed to be looked at before a decision was made.

“Cutting hay gets a bit marginal when you have to bring in contractors and you don’t have your own gear, and you don’t have established markets.

“Currently, we have people knocking down stuff let, right and centre in this part of the world.”

“It worries me sometimes; people might get themselves into a bit of strife selling semi-loads to Joe Blow on Marketplace.

Mr Lynch said barley tends to me more robust than wheat, but not all barley crops will make it to harvest.

“Some of the barley in those really extreme areas is taken out as well.”

The frost event caught the tail of the region’s ideal period for cereal flowering, namely September 5-15, whereas the widespread event of 2011 came earlier in the piece.

He said the idea of regrowth was big in 2011, but the spread of continuous cropping, and the dryness in the season, made the prospect of regrowth from new tillers “largely unviable”.

Time on Wimmera’s side

In Vic, Sparke Agricultural & Associates principal Matthew Sparke said lentils around Horsham were just starting to flower, and cereals had not started, but crops in the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee were more exposed to several frosts within a week

“Most of my clients…have had a little bit of frost and not too much is going to be cut,” Mr Sparke said of the Horsham district.

He added that points north may not escape so lightly, with indications of canola damage in the Charlton district, and cereal damage around Warracknabeal,

“What it’s come on the back of is a windy week to 10 days with very little rain.

“We had crops pumping pretty hard from depth into some hostile subsoil, and they’re just doing it tough, and then we’ve had those frosts on top.

“We’re seeing lentils reflower, and hopefully they’ll get through.”

Mr Sparke said growers should take their time making decisions about whether to cut for hay, and crops that are to be dropped should be sprayed out to minimise potential weed problems.

“Making a timely decision is the important thing.

“Get a short and a long-term plan about what you’re going to do.”

Mr Sparke said growers should talk to their financier as well as their agronomist, and consider whether crop needs to be harvested to provide seed for next year, as well as doing the sums on cutting for hay.

He said the need for stubble to help retain moisture and wind protection should also be considered to determine the height of the cut, particularly with the top 50-70cm of soil generally having limited moisture.

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