THE Atherton Tablelands and surrounding regions are set to become a significant hub for Australian Guar production, with soils, climate and location being all ideal.
Guar is a grain legume that thrives in hot/dry conditions. It fixes significant residual nitrogen, and is suited to well-drained soils in irrigation and rain fed situations.
National Operations Manager, Australian Guar Company, Tony Matchett will be holding a field day at Martin Arnold’s farm (M&M Cropping) at Lakeland on Friday, November 1, from 8am to 6pm where those in attendance can see the results of Guar cropping firsthand.
Mr Matchett said the crop was planted at M&M Cropping on July 25 under centre pivot, and said he’s looking forward to showing growers the results.
“It will be good for growers to compare its growth between now and then,” he said.
“The field day will be very informative and a great opportunity for growers to discuss how Guar could fit into the farming system.
“Guar will suit growers looking for a valuable Grain legume, with two seasons available each year, a green manure/cover crop in sugarcane rotations or horticultural enterprises. Guar also makes fantastic standing fodder or hay crops for their livestock.
“Guar is a low risk, cheap crop to grow, especially with low pest pressure. Grubs, birds, kangaroos and pigs will not eat Guar.
“A crop grown at Mareeba in 2013 yielded 2.4t/ha, and with some fine tuning of the program and better varieties, this year we expect that to be an average crop.
“Key production issues are time of planting, well-drained soils, heat, soil pH and weed control.”
Marketing and contract arrangements for growing Guar bean will be discussed at the field day along with talks on agronomic packaging and strategies for North Queensland Farming systems
Long-term markets are established for all grades with integrated marketing from farmer to consumers. Guar adds significant value to all crop rotations and is suited to production across Queensland.
New varieties, “Snow White” and “Zorro” have been released for their higher yield potential, and adaptation to North Queensland.
For further production guidelines and gross margin data phone Tony Matchett on 0438482728 or email tony@australianguar.com
