Agricultural
18 October, 2024
Storms devastate Downs crops
Storms have devastated winter crops in pockets of the Darling Downs including at Mt Tyson and Irongate, with some wiped out by hail, and others drenched on the point of harvest.
The significant weather events across the region last week have damaged wheat, barley and chickpea crops.
Heavy rain and hail hit mature crops the hardest, with many growers reporting substantial losses just as harvest was set to begin.
Localities south and south-west of Toowoomba, such as Mt Tyson and Irongate, have received significant storm damage and hail.
Regions north-west and south-west of Dalby appear most impacted, with the Jandowae region north of Dalby reportedly copping the worst of the weather.
Rainfall across the Darling Downs varied widely, with totals ranging from 5mm to as much as 110mm.
Nutrien Dalby senior agronomist Ross Pomroy said there was “quite a large area” in the Jandowae region that sustained significant damage.
“There has been substantial damage to all crops – wheat, barley and chickpeas,” Mr Pomroy said.
“Some crops they had started to harvest, barley mainly, but anything that remaining in the paddock might be up to 80 per cent lost, sometimes even higher.”
Before the storms, the Darling Downs was on track to harvest an above average winter crop.
Mr Pomroy said while it was “a bit dry towards the end” of the season, above-average yields were still expected.
“There were some minor quality issues with test weights, which usually indicates a dry finish.
“Overall, we were looking at above average yields and we did have a large winter area in this season comparatively to previous years.”
