THE issue of test weights isn't going away.
Wheatbelt grain growers have once again joined their east coast counterparts in showing their distaste for potential test weight increases in the 2013/14 harvest widely known.
This time, about 95 per cent of 500 grain producers voiced their concern about Grain Trade Australia's (GTA) proposed test weight increase in a recent GrainGrowers survey designed to assess grain producers' views of the proposed test weight increase for wheat from 74 kilograms a hectolitre to 76 kg/hL.
GrainGrowers policy group spokesman and Victorian grain producer, Chris Kelly, agreed there was still a grave concern among the country's grain producing community over the proposed increase.
He said to date, GrainGrowers hadn't seen any evidence which outlined the benefit to increasing test weights for growers.
"In fact we have been shown the reverse," Mr Kelly said.
Mr Kelly said significant cliff-face pricing would be caused by the increase because on average producers could be discounted anywhere from $50 to $100 a tonne due to the majority of Australian wheat varieties not reaching the 76 kg/hL cut off.
"GrainGrowers monitored the test weights of samples received from producers' last harvest for the GrainGrowers National Wheat Quality and Variety Report 2011/12 and found that of all the wheat samples received from throughout Australia, about 3.7pc didn't meet the minimum test weight receival standard of 74 kg/hL," he said.
"But what was of even greater concern was when the samples were compared against the proposed test weight receival standard of 76 kg/hL it was found 12.2pc of the samples didn't meet the proposed new minimum.
"This has the potential to cause a significant impact on grain producers and the broader position of the Australian grains industry."
It was only last month that GrainGrowers general manager of grower engagement, Michael Southan, told WA growers that 74kg/hL was always regarded as the standard which below that flour millers became suspicious of wet weather and its potential associated grain quality issues.
He also said even more specific information about associated sprouting and weather damage was now indicated with falling number testing and studies suggested grain size correlated more closely with flour yield, not test weights.
When GrainGrowers recently tested a significant number of wheat samples collected from Wheatbelt growers as a representation of the State's top five wheat varieties sown for profitability, it categorically demonstrated why growers were against the proposed change.
Mace made up about 24pc of the State's samples submitted for testing followed by Magenta with 16pc, Wyalkatchem with 15pc, Calingiri with eight per cent and Yitpi with seven per cent.
If test weights were increased to 76kg/hL only 82pc of the Mace samples would have reached the newly outlined delivery specifications.
Only 76pc of Magenta and 68pc of Calingiri would have done the same.
Only 24pc of the entire sample base would have achieved a milling grade and that wasn't promising news for WA wheat growers.
But Grain Industry Association of WA (GIWA) chairman, Jon Slee, warned there might be a mountain being made out of a molehill as survey results from 500 growers wouldn't necessarily be representative of the 22,000 grain growers Australia-wide.
He said GIWA didn't yet have a policy in place for the test weight argument because until now, it had never been an issue.
"We're now in the process of reviewing the impact an increase to 76kg/hL might have on WA grain growers," Mr Slee said.
"But GrainGrowers might be making a bigger issue of it than it really is.
"My concern is that the issue is being looked at from one side of the fence and hasn't yet taken into account the other side of the story.
"The fact is the actual market also has requirements."
