Rural / Country

Southland grain growers beat own world record

06:59 am on 1 April 2010

A Southland grain farming couple beat their own world record for wheat growing, by almost 230kg per hectare.

Mike and Margaret Solari farm 176 hectares of cropping land near Gore.

They first won the title in 2007 by reaching what was a record yield of almost 15.4 tonnes, using the Savannah wheat variety.

The yield is judged on the weight of the wheat after it has been processed, and to meet the standards imposed by Guinness World Records, two Justices of the Peace had to be present throughout the harvest.

This year Mr Solari has replaced the Savannah variety with a crop of Einstein, which he says has performed very well in the near-perfect growing conditions this year.

He puts the recording-winning result down to the favourable weather as well as cultivating the soil.

Mr Solari says it will take some time for Guinness to verify the results, after which he will be issued with an official certificate.

The award-winning grain will now be used for stock feed.