HARVEST is in full swing in the Geraldton zone as trucks have been lining up three wide at the CBH Geraldton site after the first load for the season was delivered on October 16.
At the time of Farm Weekly going to press, more than 138,000 tonnes had been delivered to CBH receival sites within the Geraldton zone.
Things are a little slower in other zones with 13,300t delivered to the Kwinana zone and 5200t in the Esperance zone, taking the total to 157,000t.
The Albany zone is yet to receive deliveries that are anticipated to start within the week.
CBH Geraldton zone manager Duncan Gray said harvest was slowly gaining momentum in the Kwinana zone, with loads recorded at Merredin and Koorda.
“Almost all our sites in the Geraldton zone are open and receiving grain and country sites in the Esperance zone are starting to open,” Mr Gray said.
The Geraldton port site received more than 23,500t in its first week of being open – made up of 8000t of wheat, 11,000t of barley, 3000t of canola and 700t of lupins.
The full capacity of the Geraldton site is about 650,000t, with four weigh bridges and four sample huts helping to move large C-trains through the system.
“The first couple weeks of harvest have been good so far with no major issues,” Mr Gray said.
“Many growers are embracing first-time use of the CDF app this season which is enabling a smooth delivery process.”
The app replaces the traditional Carter’s Delivery Form, allowing growers to pre-submit their load information to the CBH site they are delivering to, as well as tracking the delivery process.
Mr Gray said there had been an issue with barley screenings due to the dry September and a harsher finish than anticipated.
“We are starting to receive everything at once because it was a bit later start this season and everything seemed to dry out at the same time,” he said.
“The wheat is coming from the north and north-eastern areas where it’s dryer than other areas of the zone.
“Generally the wheat is pretty good, the canola is very good and everything else is on track so far.”
A lot of growers tried to harvest last week but found everything was still wet, especially with the overcast conditions.
Mr Gray said 11 sites in the zone have received deliveries with only four or five sites left to open for the season.
“It’s starting to pick up a bit,” he said.
“The chance of rain last week and cool weather put everyone back a bit but things will pick up with the warmer weather.”
After the clouds disappeared and with temperatures reaching 37 degrees over the weekend, Mr Gray said harvest would ramp up quickly.