Above-average rainfall has lifted crops on farms in South Australia's Riverland and Mallee, and the chief executive of Grain Producers South Australia, Brad Perry, said the 2026/27 harvest was expected to break records. Kiara Fisher's property at Bugle Hut, about 270 kilometres from Adelaide, has received 330 millimetres of rain this year against an average of 250 millimetres, while Louise Smith's farm at Maggea has received 350 millimetres, more than double last year's 115 millimetres.
Above-average rain lifts South Australian crops as growers eye record 2026/27 harvest
Above-average rainfall has lifted crops on farms in South Australia's Riverland and Mallee, and the chief executive of Grain Producers South Australia, Brad Perry, said the 2026/27 harvest was expected to break records. Kiara Fisher's property at Bugle Hut, about 270 kilometres from Adelaide, has received 330 millimetres of rain this year against an average of 250 millimetres, while Louise Smith's farm at Maggea has received 350 millimetres, more than double last year's 115 millimetres.
Twelve months earlier, the cropping paddocks at the Fishers' farm were filled with mounds of red sand, and Ms Fisher, then pregnant, worried about how her family would make ends meet. Off-farm work and the federal government's family household allowance helped them stay afloat during four years of drought. Ms Fisher said reaping this year's wheat and barley crop would allow the family to rebuild.
Ms Smith, who farms at Maggea, hoped to turn a profit for the first time in about seven years, having sown her paddocks with rye, barley, wheat and oats. Her sheep and cattle, which were hand-fed during the drought, have grown fat, and she has not had to hand-feed her Charolais cattle this year. Holding onto starving stock was a difficult decision that has paid off, with other farmers who destocked now unable to afford to buy. Many of Ms Smith's sheep did not survive last year's drought conditions.
Headers have begun rolling across paddocks in the west of the state, but most farmers were still gearing up to bring in a bumper crop. Mr Perry said the average tonnage for a South Australian grain harvest is about 9 million tonnes and that, from all reports, the state was looking at about 13 million tonnes. Frost events and disease pressure also affected crops in some regions, and the logistics of harvesting a bumper crop will prove a challenge.
Ms Fisher said that while the drought had broken, farmers were not quite out of the woods. She cited low grain prices, locusts threatening crops and input costs, with diesel prices adding an extra $200,000 to the family's budget. She said they would have to sell most of their saleable grain, apart from what is held for feed, to pay bills from the last three years. Locust nymphs have already been spotted across the Riverland and Mallee ahead of harvest. Ms Smith and Ms Fisher say they will likely begin harvesting towards the end of November.
- The source does not state the date on which the rainfall totals and the harvest outlook were reported; it refers to events as happening 'this year' and '12 months on' from a previous season.
- The source does not state the official name, eligibility rules or payment amount of the 'family household allowance' it says helped the Fisher family.
- The source does not state what record the 2026/27 harvest is expected to break, nor South Australia's grain tonnage in the previous season.
- The source does not name the regions affected by frost events and disease pressure, or the scale of those losses.
- The source does not state what 'from all reports' refers to as the basis for the projected 13 million tonne harvest.
- The source does not state how many growers have begun harvesting or the extent of the area where locust nymphs have been spotted.
Read the original at ABC News Australia