Lentils Break Ground Across Australia
Lentils are moving from niche rotations into a broader farming legacy across Australia. ABARES data suggest that the pulse could break its production record as plantings swell from the southern grain belt into Western Australia and Queensland. This growth aligns with a strategic shift in rotations, where lentils are valued for diversification, soil health, and market demand. The current trajectory points to a national lentil footprint expanding well beyond the 1.14 million hectares planted in the crop’s largest-ever year.
State-by-State Growth and Record-Area Signals
The latest ABARES estimates indicate that South Australia and Victoria are anchoring the surge, with New South Wales also posting record or near-record area. The expansion is not limited to the eastern states; Western Australia (WA) is rebuilding area with the introduction of a region-specific variety, ALB Burdett, designed to slot between canola and cereals in the planting window. Queensland is beginning to embrace pulses more broadly, marking the first real push into the northern production zones.
Regional Area Shifts
Rollout numbers show a notable shift: WA is targeting substantial gains in lentil area, while Queensland records a growing footprint alongside its neighbor states. The table below illustrates the changing landscape from 2020-21 to 2025-26, highlighting how every state is contributing to a national uplift:
Queensland: from 200 ha (2020-21) to about 1,100–1,200 ha (2025-26) with production rising accordingly.
New South Wales: from 12,000 ha to roughly 75,000–90,000 ha, signifying a strong expansion of lentils into traditional grain regions.
Victoria: from 261,000 ha to an anticipated 530,000–750,000 ha, balancing high-yield potential with diversified rotations.
South Australia: from 219,000 ha to about 515,000–845,000 ha, and WA: from 8,000 ha to 15,000–21,000 ha as new varieties arrive.
Overall, the 2025-26 projections point to total national area surpassing 1.7 million ha with production climbing well beyond earlier records.
WA’s ALB Burdett: A Local Breakthrough
WA’s lentil landscape got a fresh boost from ALB Burdett, the state’s first region-specific variety. Identified by Mount Burdett-based researchers as a strong early-season performer, Burdett is poised to fill the planting gap between canola and cereals. It has shown robust early vigor and yield potential when sown in the preferred window of April 12-15, following canola and ahead of cereals and other pulses in May.
ALB Burdett represents the first non-IMI tolerant lentil released in Australia in several years, bringing improved resistance to botrytis grey mould and moderate tolerance to saline soils. Its early flowering and maturity also offer a premium for growers seeking early harvests to avoid late-season weather risks. The historical context in Esperance—where soils resemble South Australia and legumes have long been part of the rotation—helps explain Burdett’s fit in WA’s farming systems.
GBL Trials and Northern Queensland Prospects
In Queensland, lentil research is pushing the crop toward more northern farming systems. A CSIRO trial at Wellcamp and ongoing Seednet work with ALB Terrier and PBA Hallmark XT illustrate a practical pathway for lentils in northern Australia. The Frost and Heat Management Analytics (FAHMA) project, funded by GRDC, is evaluating frost and heat stress across multiple crops to quantify risk and improve predictive yield models.
Early field days and on-farm demonstrations show that a mid-May sowing window can maximize yield potential, with flowering typically occurring in late July. Growers are weighing the benefits of early establishment against frost risk, aiming to harvest lentils in October to avoid summer storms and coincide with other crop cycles.
Looking Ahead
As research continues to drive yield insights and breeders deliver regionally adapted varieties, lentils could continue their ascent across Australia’s diverse climates. The combined effect of new varieties like ALB Burdett, an expanding sowing window, and ongoing FAHMA-supported data collection promises to sharpen management decisions and support a record-breaking year for lentil area and production in the years ahead.
