A first-time crop of mung beans has rounded off a strategy to diversify into different crops to reduce the dependence on wheat for Coonamble cropper, Adrian Lyons.
Mr Lyons has adopted a policy of adding more crops to his rotation to give him a buffer against the uncertainties of growing wheat in today’s deregulated marketing environment.
This summer he has grown 173 hectares of mung beans and 250ha of sorghum on his farm, “Caraminyah”, east of Coonamble.
His coming winter cropping program will include 800ha of chickpeas, 160ha of lupins and 280ha of barley.
In addition, after having poor results with canola in the past and dropping it from his rotation, he plans to reintroduce 240ha of the oilseed this year.
He is hoping improved varieties and performance will turn canola into a winner at a time when its gross margin prospects are a lot better than wheat.
Read the full story in this week's The Land.
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