Mr Thatcher, whose property is on Muffet Lane, just west of Wirrinya, was presented with the shield at a dinner held at Wirrinya Shed on October 28.

Walkers AGnVET agronomist Matt McRae, who judged the competition, said Mr Thatcher’s EGA Gregory Wheat crop was a stand-out in the close-knit farming area this season.

From a crop inspection held just before the presentation, Mr McRae estimated a yield range between 1.3 to 1.63 tonnes per hectare.

Second place was won by Graham Halls, with Trevor Toole in third place.

Mr McRae said like the wider Forbes region and the Central West, rain was patchy around Wirrinya in the crucial periods.

However he said crop rotation and timely application of chemicals had produced the winning crop.

“Tom got under the right showers and also got a bit of run-off from adjacent paddocks,” he said.

“His crop was a stand-out. He managed to maintain a good rotation and he capitalised on it this year.”

In his report delivered on the night of the presentation, Mr McRae said Tom Thatcher’s winning paddock was sown in late April with Dividend (seed treatment to promote root growth) treatment and 50kg/ha of MAP fertiliser.

Herbicides Trifluralin and Logran were applied pre-sowing. The crop followed a Juncea Canola crop in 2008.

Graham Halls’ Ventura paddock was sown on May 13, with Jockey treated seed and 75kg/ha MAP.

Roundup and Logran were applied pre-sowing and was also treated with Topik to control Wild oats.

Trevor Toole’s EGA Gregory was sown at the end of April and also had applications of Roundup and Logran.

The presentation evening also recapped on the previous 50 years of the competition and wheat growing in the Wirrinya area.

Local farmer Kim Muffet said the last 50 years have seen a transition from horse teams, steel wheel combines to tractors, the introduction of selective herbicides, old wheat varieties, wheat quotas, air conditioned cabs, to the modern ­farming techniques of ­autosteer, direct drilling and the vast range of crop protection products ­available today.