THE Liverpool Plains may be more than 300 kilometres from the coast, but that hasn’t stopped Brady Rutter sowing soybeans, a crop more widely grown on the North Coast.
For more than 20 years, Mr Rutter and his father, Rob, have grown soybeans, alongside corn on their Quirindi farm, “West End”.
“We’ve been in soybeans a long time and it just works well with our rotation,” Mr Rutter said.
“The climate around here seems to suit it.
“In this area, between Quirindi and Spring Ridge, there are a few of us growing soybeans, so it’s growing in popularity.
“We are all very similar around here about what we grow and we work together when someone is trialling new varieties or techniques.”
The Rutters sow about 121 hectares of soybeans each year on the 164ha “West End” and their neighbouring 129ha property, “Marydale”.
While the crops perform well, yields are lower than in coastal regions.
“We get about three tonnes/ha and while we don’t get the yields the coast does, we still get pretty handy yields,” Mr Rutter said.
“If you get rain, they get their taproots down and they seem suited to this area.
“But they are a hit and miss crop for us and do need a fair swag of rain to get them in.”
Despite this, Mr Rutter said even during drought-hit years, yields had been consistent.
He uses no fertilisers and very few sprays on the crops, because “they are not worth the cost”.
“We can go two or three years without having to spray,” he said.
Industry and Investment (I and I) NSW estimates 14,465ha of soybeans are being grown in NSW this season, down from 18,437ha last year.
Nearly two-thirds of the crop is in the traditional growing regions along the North Coast.
North Coast Oilseed Growers Association president, Paul Fleming, said summer rains helped boost the overall yield of coastal soybeans this year.
“The season has been good and growers have a number of options when they are marketing their crops,” he said.
Mr Fleming said booming overseas markets, along with stronger prices than two years ago, meant confidence was high among most growers.
On the Liverpool Plains, in addition to soybeans, the Rutters grew 121ha of two varieties of waxy corn – 34N41 and 33G39 – over summer.
At harvest in early March, the corn yielded around 10 tonnes a hectare, down on the previous year’s 13t/ha.
“The dry start to the season was too much to make up,” Mr Rutter said.
Having the 20,000-head Killara feedlot as a neighbour has been beneficial for Mr Rutter, who has established a working relationship with the feedlot, based on supplying corn as silage and contract harvesting.
“We contract for Killara, about 607 hectares in total, and it’s good to have them close by,” he said.
But while that work brings in extra revenues, demand for corn from feedlots, including Killara, has dropped over recent months.
“The only problem is we normally grow corn for silage but the feedlots aren’t buying at the moment so we have to find new buyers,” he said.
Agracom grain trader, Richard Perkins, Quirindi, said confidence was high among corn growers in the region.
“Prices aren’t too bad at the moment and the rain has been beneficial,” he said.
“It was a bit of a dicey start to the season but prices and confidence have lifted and will be high for some time to come.”
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