RiskWi$e: Eyre Peninsula farmers adjust seeding approaches in 2025
Seeding in 2025 has been a challenge for many Eyre Peninsula farmers. Following a difficult 2024 and a dry start to the current season, growers have needed to adapt their plans—reassessing crop choices, timings, and priorities to suit the conditions.
In a series of short podcast interviews conducted by Jake Giles, EPAG Research, five local growers talk through how they’re managing the season. They share practical insights into the decisions they’ve made, what’s worked in their systems, and how they’re balancing risk in a difficult year.
Timing and Crop Choices
Bruce held off seeding by about two weeks this year, aiming to avoid a repeat of last year’s issues with lentils. He started on higher ground to reduce frost risk and take advantage of moisture where possible.
Dion took a more conservative approach, seeding only oats and barley for feed so far. By avoiding pulses and canola, he aimed to limit input costs and keep options open in case the season remained dry.
Managing Mixed Enterprises
For Chris, livestock considerations influenced his cropping plan. Some paddocks initially planned for lentils were held back until there was more rain. Oats and barley were used as dual-purpose options, giving flexibility to graze if needed.
Paul adjusted by avoiding his more marginal paddocks and spreading out seeding over a longer period to manage the workload. Todd worked closely with his agronomist and neighbours to weigh up the financial and seasonal risks before settling on a plan.
Learning from Local Decisions
Across the interviews, a common thread is clear – growers are staying flexible and adjusting to the conditions as they go. Whether through crop selection, timing, or fertiliser strategies, each has made decisions to match the year’s risks and opportunities.
Listen to the Podcast
The full conversations are now available as a short podcast series. Tune in to hear how other growers are responding to the 2025 season.
Here are the links for Spotify. They can also be found on Apple Podcasts, or check out our EP Ag Chats catalogue of podcasts via our website.
