Andrew Weidemann has been farming for many years.
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He not only manages his land but is the Grain Producers Australia's national chairperson.
After a reasonably cool and wet summer, Mr Weidemann is in good spirits, saying it looks to be another good season is ahead for crop farmers, particularly after last month's heavy rainfall in Rupanyup, which saw 100mm of rain in one afternoon.
"Stored water is insurance for later in the season or even earlier in the season when we may not get a lot of rain," Mr Weidemann said.
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"You've got a base of moisture in the profile (of the soil), and that base of moisture at night goes up and down.
"That base of moisture gives us insurance and security throughout the year that we've got something underneath if we get a dry period."
Mr Weidemann explained that this was the case during a dry spell in June and July last year, which is a concern for this crop season.
"We had all that frost that dried the soil out.
"(Water storage) becomes important. If we hadn't had any spring rain last year, we would have had a really poor season.
"Any moisture we can retain in the soil profile prior to sewing it is a bonus. The cropping zone around here almost totally relies on in season rainfall in our cropping program."
Last year saw winter kill, which is when the frost ruins the crop. Mr Weidemann said last year saw over 30 frost events.
Mr Weidemann said of the 100mm of rain they saw in January, up to 30mm would be stored in the soil.
Areas that received 50mm will still store about 10mm.
"It's when you get over the 50mm range of rainfall, you tend to store more of it," he said.
The rainfall will be stored in the soils clay as a means of moisture.
The stubble on the surface, which is the previous year's crops, helps retain moisture by providing shade.
"Rather than having bare ground with the sunlight beating down on it, it helps to retain more moisture. Which is why minimum tillage has been really successful because we've been able to store a huge amount of rainfall," said Mr Weidemann.
"Around April and May, the stubble can be removed or burned, but people will let it rot back into the ground and rebuild that organic carbon level."
This form of moisture storage wasn't around 20 years ago, but Mr Weidemann said it's common practice now.
"It's been a cultural change for farmers," he said.
Mr Weidemann explained for the average backyard gardener - it's like using pea straw to keep moisture in the garden bed.
"It's exactly the same. All we're doing is taking the gardening principal and using it in the paddock in terms of how we retain the moisture," he said.
Farming now is based on how many kilograms per millimetres of rainfall you can grow, Mr Weidemann explained.
"This season will depend on how much more heat we get, if it stays on a cooler pattern, the rainfall that we've had will be extremely valuable," he said.
"But the spring is important, when everything is growing. So as much as we can store in the ground now, it is a bank deposit for the crop."
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