Agricultural
28 January, 2026
Strong yields mark start of Downs sorghum harvest
Sorghum harvesting has begun in pockets of the Darling Downs, with some districts recording standout yields of 6-7 tonnes a hectare.
While early planted sorghum is delivering good results, agronomists are becoming concerned about November and December plantings that missed out on rain, with follow-up falls required in coming weeks.
Nutrien Ag agronomist Ross Pomroy said overall this season was shaping up to be very positive with “some very, very nice looking early sorghum at this stage”.
“Out at Kapun, just west of Dalby, we are hitting some fantastic yields of 6-8t…that’s phenomenal,” Mr Pomroy said.
“Out towards Condamine, we have some sorghum coming off with exceptional yields of 4-6t as well.”
Mr Pomroy said the good soil moisture during planting in August and September, as well as milder temperatures and follow-up rain, had benefited the early-planted crops.
“We’ve had quite a good run when it comes to temperature.
“While we had warmer temperatures before Christmas, since we’ve been going through the grainfill situation it’s been quite adequate, with a few showers of rain just to finish it off.
“We’ve also had little pressure from insects generally.”
Mr Pomroy said the recent rainfall in the northwest districts such as Warra was not widespread across the Darling Downs.
“We are very concerned by the lack of rainfall and the lack of soil moisture that’s there.
“Anything planted later into that November and December, we are starting to get concerned that we need to get follow up rainfall for that to achieve good quality.
“We are still comfortable that we are going to grow a crop though.”
He said one positive was that the day temperatures had remained in the 30-degrees and the nights had been cooler.
He said this meant crops had the chance to recover, not the case when daytime maximums exceeded 40 degrees.
The Bureau of Meteorology has single-digit rainfall forecast for the Downs for the remainder of January.
- Grain Central
