Barley sowing up in Canty

Press, 28 January 1984, Page 3

Barley sowing up in Canty

A big swing towards growing more barley in Canterbury has been shown by estimates of land planted to cereals released yesterday by the Economics Division of the Ministry of Agriculture. The area planted to barley during the 1982-83 growing season exceeded that planted to wheat throughout the province by only 4.7 per cent. This season 54 per cent more land has been sown to barley than wheat. The total area planted to barley in Canterbury has been estimated by the Ministry as 67,754 ha, 62 per cent more than the total in the previous season of 41,794 ha. The increase in land area planted to wheat has been much more modest — a 10 per cent increase from 39,916 ha to 43,942 ha this season. In Canterbury the increase in land planted to barley has been greater than the increase nationwide. The Ministry estimates that 121,932 ha have been sown under barley, compared with 79,349 ha last year — an increase of 53.7 per cent. An increase of this magnitude becomes even more significant when viewed in the light of the excellent growing season in many districts. Malting barley available for export could well be double that of the previous year. The very good growing season also makes it likely that the 12.5 per cent reduction nationally in the area sown to wheat (64,794 ha this season against 74,037 ha last) will not have an effect in a reduced tonnage available for the Wheat Board. The reduction in wheat area has been most marked in Southland, where only 8000 ha has been estimated to be sown compared with 18,500 ha last season. This is a direct result of severe harvesting and storing problems in Southland because of prolonged bad weather this time last year.