TWEED canefarmers, battered by wet weather which spoiled the sugar crop, are crossing their fingers for a predicted dry spell in May which could land a bumper soybean harvest at a time of high prices.

While many other canegrowers on the NSW North Coast have seen the continued rain damage their soy beans and threaten harvesting, which has already begun in some areas, Tweed farmers appear to have hit a lucky streak.

“We got this very short window of opportunity to plant towards the end of January,” said chairman of the Tweed River branch of the Canegrowers Association, Duranbah farmer Robert Quirk.

“We all planted the same week. Normally we would all be harvesting now, but there are only a few paddocks that were planted in December.

“Harvesting will be a bit of a challenge, but the latter end of May is looking good weatherwise.

“The price is good and the crop is better than we deserve.”

Mr Quirk said most crops planted at the end of January were “looking pretty good” and estimates for the harvest of the better crops ranged from 1.2-1.4 tonnes per acre.

“It’s a really strange one,” he said. “We have three beans in a pod this year. Normally we would only get two.”

Soybean prices are high due to failed crops in many other parts of NSW and in Queensland.

Soybeans are grown by cane farmers as an alternate crop while fields are rested from cane.

“There will be some people who make a fair bit of money out of their beans this year,” said Mr Quirk.

“Every dollar you make is a dollar you’ve got to try to resurrect a cane crop.”