ABC Rural

Agricultural Crops

Tuesday, 2 June 2026, 11:55 am

The winter wheat crop is expected to decrease by 12% due to high costs and drought in some areas.

In short:

Australia's winter crop production is forecast to fall by 21%.

Farm profits will be lower due to high fuel and fertilizer prices.

What's next?

Some areas have received rain, and many farmers are positive about the future.

Drought and high costs will affect farmers, according to a report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.

The report says winter crop production will decrease by 21%, and agricultural exports will be $7 billion less.

The director of ABARES, David Galeano, said farmers will feel the impact of high costs.

Farm profits will decrease by 70% to about $65,000 per farm, with larger decreases in some areas of NSW.

The area of farms planted with crops in NSW will decrease by a third.

Rain has improved conditions in NSW, but it came too late for many farmers to plant winter crops.

The crop in Queensland may decrease by 35%.

Western Australia and South Australia had good rainfall and are expecting better crops.

While production is down in some areas, costs are rising everywhere, which will reduce profits.

Despite high fertilizer and fuel prices, and a decrease in production, farm production has held up well.

Australian farmers have had good seasons since 2019, but there are concerns about the next few months.

How individual crops are affected

Farmers have planted a decent crop, despite drought in some areas.

The wheat crop is expected to decrease by 12% to 10.9 million hectares.

The barley crop will probably increase by 4% to 5.0 million hectares.

Canola plantings will decrease by 6% to 3.5 million hectares.

Pulse crop plantings will decrease by 7%, with chickpeas down 35%.

The area planted to lentils and lupins will increase.

Horticulture production value will increase slightly to $18.9 billion.

The value of cotton production will decrease by $763 million.

WA farmer Tim Beeck says he won't make any money this year due to high fuel and fertilizer costs.

Tim Beeck enjoys seeing his crops grow, despite the challenges.

Tuesday, 2 June 2026, 11:55 am

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