The devastating viral disease first hit in 2005, running rampant through grazing wheats and decimating their forage and grain potential, particularly in the Harden and Cowra areas.

The only crops spared seemed to be those sown later in the season.

Despite the many unknowns about how and when the virus will strike, Mr Stewart is reluctant to drop dual-purpose wheats from the farming program because they have performed well and are an important feed source for the first-cross lamb enterprise.

A weather front around Anzac Day that dropped about 30mm of rain on his family’s Harden property, “Derneveagh”, set up the conditions for 150 hectares of Wedgetail grazing wheat to be planted in early May.

“Our main variety is Wedgetail. We had it in 2005 and there was a lot of wheat streak mosaic virus in the area, but we were lucky because we had planted it a bit later and we didn’t have any trouble,” he said.

“We had paddocks only a couple of hundred metres from neighbours who had sown early and had 90 per cent of their crops decimated, and we didn’t get any.

“It was our best performer in 2005. We stripped more than five tonnes a hectare and it was Prime Hard.”

Delta Agribusiness senior agricultural consultant, Tim Condon, Harden, said after the devastating impact of wheat streak mosaic virus in 2005, he doubted if any farmers in the area would sow grazing wheats early ever again.

Extract from The Land, NSW, May 22.