As harvest start at BCG’s main research site at Warmur in November, the research team were thrilled to report barley yields between 5.9 and 7.6 tonnes a hectare.

Then a few weeks later, at the Wimmera research site at Kalkee, the worst of the varieties yielded an impressive seven tonnes a hectare while the best reached an incredible 8.6 tonnes a hectare.

At both sites feed quality varieties fathom and rosalind were among the best yielders while compass, which has been a consistent performer in BCG and National Variety Trials in the past few years, failed to finish in the top five for yields.

In 2016 compass appeared to be more effected by lodging than some of the other varieties and BCG researchers are working to determine if increased head loss played a part.

Birchip Cropping Group barley agronomy leader Linda Walters said in both the Wimmera and the Mallee barley yields from BCG 2016 variety trials had been nothing short of phenomenal.

However, she said growers should to apply due diligence before making variety changes in response to this year’s results.

“On a yearly basis, new barley varieties are released promising bigger and better yields and traits and this leads to the tough decision whether to keep your existing variety or make the switch to a new variety,” she said.

“Purely chasing yield might be good in the short term but its important growers think about a varieties long term impacts such as its ability to suppress weeds or its ability to withstand or carryover disease.”

Ms Walters said BCG would release its preliminary yield and quality results to members within 48 hours of harvest.

She said a full analysis of barley variety performance in the Wimmera and Mallee in 2016 would be published in the 2016 BCG Season Research Results compendium and the results presented at BCG’s Trials Review Day at Birchip on February 17.

She said growers could also access information about barley varieties through BCG’s podcast channel, BCGin Focus, which could be downloaded through iTunes.