Sunflowers are a valuable crop in the rotation at “Windy Station” Quirindi, northern NSW, making up 25 % of the total area used for cropping. In total “Windy Station” occupies 21,000 ha on the highly productive Liverpool Plains, with this total area split between 8,000 ha of cropping, 8,000 ha of improved pastures and 5,000 ha of naturalised pasture.
As a critical part of the rotation, the 2,000 ha of sunflowers are primarily planted in September in the early planting, following a short fallow from grain sorghum. A small area of sunflower is also often planted in the late plant window. Sunflowers provide a valuable break crop from stubble borne diseases of winter cereals as well as allowing the opportunity to rotate herbicide groups and cost effectively control any grass weeds which have escaped during the sorghum crop. However, the primary driver for including sunflower in the rotation is the attractive gross margin when compared to the other crops grown on “Windy Station”.
Ausigold 62, a monounsaturated Nuseed hybrid, is used to meet the market demands of primarily the crushing sector but also on occasion the confectionary sector.
While the agronomy of growing sunflowers is now an area in which we have built our confidence there are still challenges with the crop such as handling the residue while maintaining ground cover to maximise moisture retention.
Sunflowers have brought a reliable, profitable crop to the rotations on “Windy Station” which has proven over time to deliver benefits both financially as well as contributing to the overall health of our soils.