Bumper wheat crop looms again in Australia on ample rains

FILE PHOTO: Ears of wheat are seen in a field near the village of Hrebeni in Kyiv region, Ukraine July 17, 2020. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

NEVER mind soaring fertiliser costs or snarled supply chains – of all the inputs Australian farmers are considering ahead of the next crop, there’s one that matters more than the rest: prospects for abundant rainfall.

Undeterred by lofty prices for many inputs right now, growers Down Under “aren’t really holding back on the area,” according to Thomas Elder Markets grains analyst Andrew Whitelaw, who said months of heavy rain had boosted soil moisture in the east, while Western Australia had also “received a good dump of rain.”