EARLY signs are that the total area planted to summer crops in Australia will be lower in 2009-10, deputy executive director, ABARE, Dr Terry Sheales, said on Tuesday.
“The area sown to summer crops is forecast to be 5 per cent lower this summer," he said.
“This reflects the continued lack of irrigation water for rice and cotton planting, in particular.
“The below average winter rainfall in the major summer cropping regions (of northern NSW and Qld) also has also adversely affected the outlook for grain sorghum plantings,” Dr Sheales said.
He noted, however, that summer crops plantings remain several months away and that the outlook could change nearer to planting.
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