Growers in raceto beat Santa

With Christmas Day only a few sleeps away, some farmers in the Esperance region are still working to get their 2016 crops away, while others have their headers cleaned and in sheds and are tackling the task of emptying grain bags sprinkled around outlying paddocks.

Individual farmers are swapping tales of how crops have yielded exceptionally well in some soil types and not so well in others; and how waterlogging has affected some and the impact of frosts.

After an unusual run of dry weather some farmers have finished earlier than expected and CBH Esperance zone manager Mick Daw said that not only was the quantity of grain delivered in the zone exceeding expectations but the quality was pleasing as well.

“We have currently received a total of 2.5 million tonnes of grain, up from the 2.1 million predicted,” he said.

“The quality has also ended up being really good. There is a little bit of frost damage, but nothing like we expected, and a little bit of ergot — also not to the extent we expected.”

Mr Daw said the dry finish to the season may have helped ensure the quality was better than expected.

“So far we have received 1.16 million tonnes of wheat, 890,000t of barley, 420,000t of canola, 3000t of oats, 3000t of lupins and 14,000t of field peas,” Mr Daw said.