7 IREC Farmers' Newsletter No. 198 — Spring 2017 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 21-Sep-16 26-Sep-16 01-Oct-16 06-Oct-16 11-Oct-16 16-Oct-16 21-Oct-16 26-Oct-16 31-Oct-16 05-Nov-16 10-Nov-16 15-Nov-16 20-Nov-16 25-Nov-16 30-Nov-16 Maximum daily Minimum daily 0.0 500.0 1000.0 1500.0 2000.0 2500.0 Late Oct Early Nov Mid Nov Late Nov Early Dec Mid Dec Late Dec Early Jan Mid Jan Late Jan Early Feb Mid Feb Late Feb Early Mar Mid Mar Late Mar Early Apr Mid Apr Late Apr Average 2016 ─ 17 2015 ─ 16 Figure 1. Establishment temperatures Griffith 2016. Figure 2. Day degrees 2016–17. In a challenging production season, most growers in southern NSW achieved over the target gross margin of $1500/ha, with an average $1971/ha. Table 1. Gross margin comparison for 2016 and 2017 Season Total income Variable costs GM/ha GM/ML 2016 $7200/ha $3895/ha $3305 $330 2017 $5376/ha $3398/ha $1971 $209