WA farmers quick to smash last year’s 15.1mt harvest total as they steamroll towards a record 21mt crop

WA’s 3900 grain farmers are set to smash last year’s 15.1 million tonne harvest total just weeks after starting, with deliveries streaming in and more than 40 harvest records already in the bag.

CBH acting chief executive officer Ben Macnamara said 14.7mt had been delivered across the co-operative’s network of upcountry sites so far and he expected last year’s total to be surpassed within hours.

WA grain growers are now more than halfway through harvesting a bumper crop flagged to crack the 20mt mark for the first time and pump an $8b economic stimulus into the State.

“We have about 14.7mt in the bin and to put that into context, that is above the five year average,” Mr Macnamara said.

“We have had 11 days where we received more than 500,000t, 15 sites that have broken their all-time receival records, and 25 sites break their one-day receival records. I suspect we will have more of those.

“It has been a remarkable effort on behalf of growers and front line staff.”

CBH expects grain deliveries to continue well into the new year — long beyond the usual early January finish — with many grain growers expected to keep working during the Christmas period.

Mr Macnamara said deliveries were averaging 400,000 tonnes per day after peaking at 586,000 tonnes earlier in the month as growers in the Geraldton and Esperance Port Zones started to wrap up harvest.

“We expect to receive significant tonnages during the next two to three weeks and I expect we will have significant grain coming in, post-Christmas,” he said.

“Generally speaking, that is mostly centred around the Albany Port Zone.”

Mr Macnamara said there were a number of CBH bins that had quickly filled with grain and closed, including Tammin in the Central Wheatbelt, but CBH was working to mitigate this issue.

He said a number of non-network strategy sites — bins that had been closed and were no longer in use — had been brought back to life to cater for the bumper grain deliveries, including Mogumber and Nembudding.

“There have been a number of sites closed... and a couple of non-network strategy and smaller sites we have opened and filled,” he said.

“I suspect as we move through the next week to 10 days we will see a number of other sites fill and close.

“We are trying to keep as many sites open and to take receivals (depending on) road and rial movements.”

While yields had been better than expected, wheat quality had “taken a hit” this year.

“Growers I have spoken to in areas with significant frost... say yields are better than expected,” he said.

“Growers say yields have been well up on their own expectations.

“I think this will see us receiving around that magical number of 20mt.”

Mr Macnamara presented the co-operative’s annual results to the year ending September 30 on Friday, saying the $133.8m surplus was its best financial result in five years.

Mr Macnamara attributed the solid financial result in-part to the 15.1mt harvest delivered to the grain handler last year — above CBH’s 14mt average — coinciding with strong global demand and good grain prices.