The report is a quarterly report with a consistent and regular assessment of crop prospects for major field crops, forecasts of area, yield and production and a summary of seasonal conditions on a state by state basis.
In this edition of the Australian crop report, ABARES will release its latest forecast of summer crop production in 2016-17 and its latest estimate of winter crop production in 2016-17.
Key issues • Planting of 2016-17 summer crops is largely completed and planted area is estimated to have increased from last year because of above average spring rainfall. However, yields of dryland summer crops are expected to be constrained by hot and dry seasonal conditions during summer.
• The Bureau of Meteorology's latest three-month rainfall outlook suggests above average rainfall is unlikely across the major summer cropping regions in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
• Harvesting of 2016-17 winter crops is now largely complete and production is estimated to have exceeded the forecast of record production presented in the December 2016 edition of Australian crop report.