Excellent starts to local wheat and canola crops combined with a warm, dry spring meant that harvest wrapped up early in November and December.

District agronomist Paul Parker said the rain that fell from February through to the end of June gave the farmers a good storage of moisture.

“We already had a full profile of moisture,” Mr Parker said.

“The majority of (wheat) growers had at least average yields.”

But it was the dry finish to the season that impacted on the quality of wheat crops.

“While the yield was good, the quality was variable,” Mr Parker said.

He said growers harvested a mix of qualities within the same crops, reaping the odd APH (Australian Prime Hard) variety and mostly APW (Australian Premium White).

“Most farmers who I’ve spoken to are happy with the season, given how difficult the finish was.”

Canola growers experienced similar variable yields but said they were mostly happy with the result, especially with the oil content.

“The standard is 42 per cent and most said they had above 42 per cent. Some were 46 and 47 per cent,” Mr Parker said.

Young cherry orchardist and president of the NSW Cherry Growers Association Tom Eastlake said Young’s cherry yields were “certainly” better than last season, despite some growers harvesting smaller fruit.

Like their wheat-growing counterparts, cherry growers also experienced a dry spell during their season, which finished up earlier this month.

“The combination of a dry spring and very big crop caused the smaller size,” Mr Eastlake said.

“We had extraordinary fruit Australia-wide… which reflected in some lower pricing.

“Those who finished early did quite well, those who finished later, there was a crunch on with prices.”

Export confidence was reduced after Vietnam suspended imports from Australia last year.

“With the amount of rain (between November and December), growers were cautious with the amount of fruit going overseas,” he said.

“We had good early rain but the later rain caused a little damage - nothing catastrophic - but you do have to be careful in terms of where you send it.”

Mr Eastlake said there was still no action into Vietnam, and their hopes of reaching Chinese and Thai markets were “still finding traction”. 

He said they hoped to have had a deal sorted by the end of last year, “but we haven’t seen anything yet”.