Sorghum crop a contender

When word got around Dunedoo in NSW that a R.U.M.-treated sorghum crop had just won a local crop competition, the Beaulieu R.U.M. sleuths (pictured) were soon on the trail.

Apparently, on the day of judging, the experts had estimated that the crop had a prize-winning potential yield of over 8 tonnes/ha.

As the Beaulieu R.U.M. team inspected the good-looking crop on 'Snowdon', just east of Dunedoo, proprietor 'Lou' Armstrong explained, "This was an old pasture paddock, hadn't been cropped for at least 7 years, and flooding had covered it with weedy rubbish."

James Foran, who is responsible for operations on 'Snowdon' added, "We needed to knock out some lucerne patches on the higher ridges, so we added a knockdown to the first 4L/ha application of R.U.M. and that really flattened it.

Then we sowed the Buster sorghum with 25kg/ha of GranulockZ.

We didn't get any rain for six weeks after sowing but then the district got over 60mm and the crop never looked back.

"When the crop was 18" high another 5L/ha R.U.M. went on with a post-emergent and some trace elements. Considering no urea was used, the growth of the strong dark green leaves and the thick, solid stalks was impressive. Looking at the head formation you could understand why.

We hear that the crop is now a contender for another prestigious competition. Good luck, lads.

James Foran and son. Future 'foreman material'?