GROWERS could be eligible for a 50 cents a tonne discount on receival fees to CBH if they submit their crop estimates earlier this year.
CBH said it was keen to better plan its services this year and was offering the incentive to help with site preparations for harvest.
The co-operative is asking growers to submit their cropping plans through Paddock Planner - the online mapping tool that helps growers to keep their information up to date and accurate to a paddock level.
Available through CBH's secure online portal LoadNet, Paddock Planner provides CBH with a clearer picture of what crops are being grown and where it was likely to be delivered so sites and services can be planned according to grower demand.
To earn the 50c discount, growers must:
Complete their 2019-20 cropping plans and estimates through Paddock Planner by July 14, 2019 and
Use the CDF app for their harvest deliveries up to February 28, 2020.
The discount is in addition to any rebates that may apply for the 2019-20 season.
All estimates data entered into Paddock Planner automatically syncs with CBH's CDF app used at delivery including paddocks, commodities and varieties.
CBH chief executive officer Jimmy Wilson said they were keen to encourage growers to provide the estimate information up front to enable better planning come harvest time.
"We want to ensure we optimise the way we receive grain and do that with the full knowledge of where the grain is being grown so we can actually put the segregations in place at the right sites," Mr Wilson said.
Normally growers are asked to supply estimates in August-September and Mr Wilson said the call to receive them earlier was really about being able to spend more organisational effort and more time on planning up front.
"We have asked for them earlier so we can deeply consider where we put our segregations," he said.
"Given the estimates are due by July 14, the crop will be well planted by then."
Mr Wilson said other tools in place to speed up turnaround times at bins included grid enhancements across the network.
"We carried out 25 grid enhancements last year and while we won't do as many as that this year, we will continue to do work on that front and upgrade some of those slower grids," he said.
"CBH is also spending a lot of money on putting in additional storage and increasing capacity at sites.
"The intention is to build more than 800,000 tonnes of permanent storage this year and that work is 60 per cent completed and on track to be ready by harvest."
Mr Wilson added that he appreciated that through Paddock Planner growers were sharing more detailed information with CBH and assured growers that the co-operative was committed to protecting personal and business information in line with Australia's privacy laws.
"We take our growers' information security very seriously - their privacy is our priority, every day," Mr Wilson said.
"We collect estimates only for the purpose in which it is intended, which is to ensure our Operations division can provide the services that growers demand for the coming harvest, better plan for future harvests and keep improve our services and products.
"We cannot do this effectively without accurate estimates from growers".
It is the second consecutive year growers can complete their crop estimates through Paddock Planner, with approximately 40pc of estimates completed last year through the online tool.
General manager operations Ben Macnamara said following feedback from growers last year, CBH had made some improvements so growers could better manage their properties and estimates.
"Growers can now upload shapefiles, KMZ or KML files from other mapping software that they may already use directly into Paddock Planner, potentially saving them time when mapping out their paddocks before they then enter estimates," Mr Macnamara said.
"There is also the option of splitting paddocks and entering multiple commodities or varieties.
"Of course, there's always room for improvement and we're always open to suggestions to keep improving Paddock Planner in years to come."
