TOTAL grain production for this season’s harvest is expected to reach 14 million tonnes, according to the Grains Industry Association of WA’s latest crop report.
Author Michael Lamond said that figure represented deliveries, as well as on-farm storage, including that from Bunge.
“It’s all one out of the box, I’ve never seen such an improvement so late in the year,” Mr Lamond said.
“It’s a good story.
“No one could have foreseen the finish that we’ve had, that’s for sure.”
Mr Lamond said canola deliveries were likely to be between 1.8 million tonnes and 1.9mt which he said were unbelievable.
“I think what has happened there is that the predictions on plantings early on were 20 per cent up for 2017,” he said.
“With the poor start we thought that it would be down on that, but there was obviously a lot more canola in the ground than we thought and that has caught everyone off-guard a bit because the canola yields haven’t actually been that good – it’s just there has been a lot more area go in the ground than we thought.
“So that has contributed to the tonnage for canola.
“That’s the main one that we were a bit out with.”
Mr Lamond said their barley predictions were about right with 3.4mt delivered and wheat just over 7mt.
He said many farmers in the Kellerberrin, Bruce Rock, Narembeen, Kulin and Corrigin areas were saying it was one of their best years as far as dollars go.
“They haven’t had the frost and they’ve had even yields across all of the paddocks,” he said of the Kwinana east zone.
“Their total tonnage is up and prices aren’t too bad.
“Kwinana west is the same – a lot of guys are saying this is a pretty good year.
“The main area that has had a less than average year is that around Kalannie, Beacon, north Mukinbudin, north Bencubbin, north Westonia, Wialki, Koorda – all through there it’s not the best.”
As of Thursday last week, total CBH deliveries had reached 13mt.
The Geraldton zone had received 1.5mt with harvest pretty much wrapped up and Mingenew one of the last bins to close.
Harvest is expected to finish this week in the Kwinana zone with 5.4mt received.
The York and Corrigin bins have broken their receival records.
Albany still has 12 sites and the terminal open with some set to close this week with receivals reaching 3.1mt.
Receival records have been broken at Hyden, Broomehill, Nyabing, Gairdner and Jacup.
Harvest is mostly complete in the Esperance zone with 2.7mt received and most sites closed, leaving the port to receive the last bit of grain that will come in over the next week or so.
