Callum Wesley
Western Australian grain grower Callum Wesley is leading the charge in adapting dryland farming to shifting rainfall patterns and climate variability.
As owner and manager of Charlesville Agriculture, Callum oversees a 6200-hectare operation near Southern Cross, with 5500 hectares dedicated to wheat, barley, oats, chickpeas, and lentils.
Studying the property’s monthly rainfall history, Callum said there had been a clear shift in rainfall from winter months to erratic storms in autumn. He said there were two ways to tackle this: investigating how to maximise high-value, low-rainfall break crops, or to pursue the opportunities in capitalising upon autumn storms to maximise crop profitability.
Callum will use his travels to study “Opportunistic cropping and low rainfall break crops” – putting both options to the test and taking a deep-dive into the merits of each approach.
He sees untapped potential in sowing timing, crop density, and alternative break crops that can thrive in low-rainfall zones.
His research will take him to North America’s grain belt and lentil-growing regions in Canada, as well as Agritechnica in Germany, to investigate technologies and cropping systems that support profitability in marginal climates. Domestically, he will explore legume production in Victoria and South Australia.
Callum’s study aligns with Grains Research and Development Corporation’s strategic priorities and builds on his own on-farm trials, including deep sowing long coleoptile wheat and expandingInvestor Information:
The CBH Group is Australia’s largest co-operative and a leader in the Australian grain industry, with operations extending along the value chain from fertiliser to grain storage, handling, transport, marketing and processing. Owned and controlled by more than 3,500 Western Australian grain growing businesses, CBH's core purpose is to sustainably create and return value to Western Australian growers, both current and future.
Website: www.cbh.com.au
