Oz record broken

The previous highest yielding crop in Australia was in 2022, and was 21.47 t/ha.

Nathan Pate planted the crop of Pioneer Hybrid P0937 on October 18, and it was harvested in late March.

It was grown using a pivoting lateral with 6.5 megalitres of water per hectare supplied throughout the summer.

This resulted in a water use efficiency (WUE) of 2.74 tonnes per megalitre of water when rainfall was factored.

The crop was sown following a 16 month fallow.

The fertility of the paddock was very good with a deep nitrogen soil test confirming 212kg per hectare of soil Nitrogen (0-60cm soil).

The field has had a history of robust inputs, along with soil amendments such as Lime, Gypsum and Chicken Litter.

Maize and canola have been two of the mainstay crop choices over the last five years.

James Murray from AGnVET Cobram, who advised Mr Pate and his farm manager Daniel Phelan throughout the season, said the high yielding crop was achieved with a combination of good management and the right weather conditions.

“The season has been a kind one for maize, with good early rainfall in November, December and January to setup a healthy yield potential,” Mr Murray said.

“The weather was relatively mild either side of pollination and this helped maximise kernel number.

“The warmer weather didn’t really arrive until March and the corn was nearing blacklayer (physiological maturity).

“A quicker than normal dry-down has caught a few growers out, in particular the P0937 hybrid which has been around that 13-15 per cent grain moisture.”

The Pates have been cropping farmers in Tocumwal since the 1960s, and Mr Pate diversified into corn about nine years ago when water was scarce.

“Back then I was looking for a double crop after canola that had good water efficiency,” he said.

“I had always knocked out a lot of rice layouts during the drought, but given you spend a lot of money on water infrastructure I wanted a crop that would utilise it during the summers.”

Before his record breaking yield was confirmed last week, Mr Pate’s personal best maize crop off the farm was 18t/h.

While he agreed the conditions were just right for growing, he credited much of the success to Mr Phelan trying new technologies and techniques and “following James’ recipe to the letter”.

“We knew it was a good crop all the way through, but you never know until you’ve finished harvest,” Mr Pate said of the result.

“It took a long time to have the yield certified, so when we finally heard back last week it was an Australian record we were quite surprised.

“There is more corn around these days, even here at Toc, but this should help put us (Tocumwal and corn growers) on the map a little more.”