WESTERN Australian grain growers' fortunes changed dramatically in 2019, coming off the back of the State's second-best ever harvest in 2018/19 to enduring one of its hardest finishes this harvest.
The cumulative lack of pre-season subsoil moisture, prolonged dry conditions in spring and severe frost events in the southern regions all affected the 2019/20 growing season - with the latest Grain Industry of WA (GIWA) crop production estimates for December estimating a harvest of about 11.208 million tonnes was received.
It said total grain tonnage would be lower in WA than the more recent eight-year average of about 15mt - and it showed with harvest winding up for the majority of grain growers before Christmas - whereas last season it extended into early February.
"A return of between 11-12mt of total grain will be a good result considering the low growing season rainfall, higher than average temperatures in spring and virtually no rain in September,'' GIWA said.
Indeed, Australians went into Christmas with confirmation it had been the nation's driest and second hottest spring since records began about 120 years ago.
It was so different to January 2019, when a late-break and stop-start harvest finished in triumph with WA grain production reaching 17.9mt - the second highest on record - with a value of $7 billion.
The 2018-19 harvest sat behind the record year of 2016, when more than 18mt were produced and pipped 2013's total grain production of 17mt.
The impressive results came despite a season disrupted by a late break, thunderstorms, fires and a significant frost event and was helped by a good year in the Geraldton zone which delivered 3.29mt (up 2mt) and a record year in the Kwinana zone (8.48mt by harvest's end up 2.2mt).
In its 2018/19 season summary, GIWA said the crop had been predicted to reach 14mt earlier in the season, following a dry spring and several severe frost events.
"But they were eclipsed by a nearly 4mt turnaround over most parts of the State, due to the late soft finish and mild temperature during grain fill prior to harvest,'' the report said.
The stand-out crop was barley, with an average yield of 2.72 tonnes per hectare and just over 5mt harvested - well above previous recent averages - and Noodle wheat production increased by 45pc to about 1.6mt.
The percentage of barley-making malt grades was up by nearly 10pc on historical averages.
Only 54pc of the crop area was wheat, the lowest on record.
Then CBH general manager operations David Capper told Farm Weekly the harvest was a lot bigger than had been expected - the co-operative received 16.4mt through its network, which was its second largest receival on record.
"While we were anticipating a larger-than-average harvest, the final result was more than we expected and a great outcome for growers and CBH,'' Mr Capper said.
"There were sites across the State that came under pressure, but all in all I am really pleased that the team got it done."
It was little wonder that WA farmers reported being the most confident in Australia, according to a Rabobank Confidence Survey in March, although they did enter 2019 with lower expectations of the following harvest.
"More than half of the WA farmers surveyed (57pc) anticipated similar conditions to last year, while 18pc indicated they were expecting the agricultural economy to worsen.
Miling farmer David McLagan was among those feeling the pressure of the larger than expected harvest in 2018-19.
He had prepared the best he could for the season, but told Farm Weekly in mid-January, that he had harvested about twice as much grain compared to the previous year - with the sheer bulk of the crops playing havoc with his machinery and logistics.
Mr McLagan said machinery breakdowns and limited storage due to his later finish presented challenges harvesting his 4200 hectare program across two properties at Miling and Bindi Bindi, but when visited by Farm Weekly he had already delivered more than 13,500 tonnes of grain into the CBH system - with the cereal program averaging about 4t/ha on the back of a late break.
"It has been a very busy year for us, compared to last year, it was probably about 6000t last year,'' he said.
"That's a big difference.
"The yields were double what last year's were.''
In other grain news during the year, CBH had a busy start to 2019, with the election process for CBH member directors and the release of its 2017-18 financial results.
Nine nominees vied for three board positions - with incumbent director in District 4, Trevor Badger, Pingrup, narrowly returned with 224 votes - and with a margin of one vote ahead of Royce Taylor.
Fellow sitting director Kevin Fuchsbichler, Bruce Rock, was re-elected in District 3 and Mukinbudin grower Jeff Seaby provided a new face in District 2.
Esperance farmer Simon Stead was appointed a new deputy chairman later in the year, replacing Vern Dempster who decided not to renominate after holding the position from April 2013 to April 2014 and then from August 2014.
The co-operative reported a "solid" surplus before rebates of $128 million for 2017/18, compared to $248m the year before.
While revenue increased 9pc year-on-year the lower profit result was due to a smaller 2017 harvest and the return of a strong rebate to growers totalling $95m or up to $10.50/t.
Releasing the results, CBH chief Jimmy Wilson indicated a key focus for 2019 would be continuing a cost reduction program which was looking to take $100m in costs out of the business.
A restructure increased CBH management zones from four to five and saw the departures of several long-term CBH employees, including Mr Capper, Kwinana Port zone manager Andrew Mencshelyi and Albany Port zone manager Greg Thornton.
The restructure and cost cutting was a topic of much conversation among farmers at the start of the year and sited as a significant issue by many candidates in the board election campaign.
In February, CBH announced a $150m investment in its network, boosting storage by more than 800,000t - with the most critical sites targeted first.
Interflour recorded its first loss since CBH took a share in the company in 2005 of $10.2m - due to a highly competitive landscape putting downward pressure on margins, new plants taking longer to ramp up and adverse foreign exchange movements.
But in happier news, CBH marked a significant milestone of more than 50mt of grain being transported on its rail fleet since the co-operative purchased its own locomotives and wagons in 2012.
And it also remarked on the steady stream of grain flowing from WA to Eastern States' ports.
In June, it offered growers a 50c/t discount on receival fees if they submitted their cropping plans through Paddock Planner by July 14 - a deadline which was later extended and caused some controversy and opposition within the industry.
Research from WeedSmart showed that grain farmers were increasingly using some form of harvest weed seed control (HWSC) - with a 40pc jump from 2014 in those saying they had some HWSC strategy.
The Integrated Harrington Seed Destructor and the Seed Terminator, which mill weed seeds to render them unviable, were at the forefront of emerging HWSC technology.
United States' farm commodities giant Cargill announced in January it would sell its malt business, including 15 malt plants, to Belgian-based Boortmalt.
The company's Joe White Maltings business in Australia was the country's largest malt producer for local and Asian markets, with six plants in five States.
One of the biggest convoys to carry hay to the Eastern States left WA in late January, bound for Cobar, in New South Wales.
A total of 50 trucks carrying more than 3000t of feed and up to 100 people made the 3000 kilometre journey to delivery much needed feed to farmers struggling with drought.
In February, the WA government announced $42m funding for a scientific research partnership with the Grain Research and Development Commission to unlock some of the State's problematic soils - while an additional $6m was allocated to three exploratory projects aimed at boosting oat, canola, lupin and pulse production and value for WA growers.
Of the funding, the government committed more than $25m over five years to WA projects to be led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's (DPIRD) research arm.
"This industry is hungry for technology to address WA's unique conditions and market challenges while striving to record growth such as this season's impressive 17.9mt harvest - our second biggest crop ever,'' said Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan, at the project announcement.
"The McGowan government is committed to ensuring DPIRD maintains its core scientific skills and expertise across grain production, sustainability and biosecurity.
"DPIRD scientists, many operating from regional locations from Geraldton to Esperance, are working alongside university researchers, grower groups and farm consultants to link innovation from the laboratory to the paddock to the market.''
GRDC held its popular Grains Research Updates series in Tambellup and Perth in February, with managing director Steve Jefferies saying it was "going back to the drawing board'' to find ways it could help transform the industry through the next five years of research.
"We will be global and cutting edge,'' Mr Jefferies said.
"When it comes to genetics, we are going back to basics, back to fundamentals and going to go blue sky, by trying to attract the best in the world and bring them here to work on our toughest issues.''
In April, the first of a series of field trials were planted across the agricultural region under a two-year project to evaluate early sowing opportunities for canola and lupins - six weeks before the traditional Anzac Day start.
Glyphosate came under challenge during the year, with Bayer facing more than 11,000 cases in US courts linking cancers to the chemical and countries in Asia and Europe initiating bans on its use due to concerns about its affect on ecosystems.
The first US successful case, won by Dewayne Johnson in the US district court, sent shockwaves around the world when it found Roundup had cause his cancer.
And in October, Riverina, NSW, farmer Ross Wild, who has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, launched the first legal action in Australia in the Victorian Supreme Court against Bayer for damage caused by Roundup.
The developments prompted Syngenta to warn that is expected to release chemical alternatives to glyphosate if the broad spectrum herbicide was pulled off shelves - but without making any specific promises.
A long-running dispute opened when China foreshadowed hitting Australian farmers with tariffs on barley imports after it launched anti-dumping action through the World Trade Organisation and the sector continued to grapple with how it might be affected by the United States-China trade war - with experts warning of both potential bullish and bearish scenarios.
It prompted a group of grain growing representative groups, led by Grain Producers Australia (GPA), to issue a warning to growers to carefully plant their winter crop rotation due to the potential affect of China's decision on the market this year.
"We're not saying don't plant barley, given the odds veering in favour of a drier than average year barley will make sense agronomically, but farmers need to know there could be some issues with international markets this year,'' warned GPA chairman Andrew Weidemann.
"It is not panic stations in terms of selling barley by any means, it is highly likely the east coast domestic market will remain very strong, there are new feed grain markets in Indonesia coming online as a result of the free trade agreement and we are working on opening up the Indian market, but China is still an important piece of the puzzle for us.''
The trade uncertainties, drought conditions across the country and supply challenges overseas caused hardship for many agribusinesses.
Crop protection business Nufarm fell victim, reporting a $60m earnings downgrade in March, with earnings before income, tax depreciation and amortisation between $440-$470m - which immediately cut 23.9pc of the company's share price and forced the retrenchment of up to 50 staff.
Grain buyer Lempriere Grain was one of several grain traders forced into administration, with claims for about $18m submitted by creditors, including $10.4m owed to the owners and $6-7m to growers.
Late in the year Fremantle-based grain exporter Plum Grove sidelined itself from trading because of a difficult period in the market.
GrainCorp, the large grain handler, marketer and processor, confirmed in May a statutory half-year loss after tax of $59m, due to the smallest eastern Australian winter grain crop since the millennium drought.
It had already announced it would demerge its big money-making global malting business into a newly named MaltCo and during the year, GrainCorp continued to engage with Long-Term Asset Partners, over a potential take-over bid.
Geo-politics also affected the global fertiliser business, which influenced prices and availability of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate and caused a shortage of urea for a short time.
Key WA grains industry and government stakeholders came together to form the Grains Biosecurity Advisory Committee to examine biosecurity risks and opportunities in March and the Federal government announced $30.3m to stamp out weeds and animal pests.
And in the same month, WAFarmers' Trending Ag 2019 conference heard that in-crop herbicide, pesticide and fungicide maximum residue levels in grain products would become increasingly important in determining which export markets remain open to WA growers.
The next generation trait for genetically modified canola variety, Truflex, was poised to become commercially available to Australian growers this year, after the Chinese government granted a safety permit last March.
In mid-April, GIWA said the intended crop area mix for the 2019/20 season was generally unchanged from 2018 - with just over 8.2 million hectares to be planted.
It said this would be made up of 4.56mha of wheat, 1.73mha of barley, 1.23mha of canola, 320,000ha of oats, 390,000ha of lupins and 40,000ha of pulses.
"I think this is a reflection that growers are keen to stick to their rotations for long-term benefit,'' said report author and consultant Michael Lamond.
Manildra Group was issued a permit in May to import wheat into Australia - for the first time in more than a decade - to supply its Nowra, NSW, gluten and starch manufacturing plant.
The company indicated imported wheat could be used until at least the end of the year, due to a shortfall of hard Australian wheat caused by the drought.
The livestock and feedlot industries also started looking at methods to make seeds unviable and kill insects, weeds and disease pathogens, to allow them to potentially bring in imported grain for use in their businesses.
Meanwhile, in WA a lack of sub-soil moisture and opening rains for the majority of the grainbelt, combined with climate forecasts aligning with a lower than average rainfall this year, had farmers winding back their crop areas and making earlier than usual adjustments to their seeding programs.
Dry seeding was notably reduced and many growers considered a delayed start to their programs as the industry anticipated the season break.
"Apart from the far south, in areas around Albany, there really hasn't been a break,'' said WAFarmers grains section president Duncan Young, Beverley.
"People are putting crop in dry, but there is certainly no rush, they aren't working huge hours to get it in, especially with no rain on the immediate outlook.''
Storm fronts hit the State in late June, bringing much-needed rain and an official break to the season across the regions from as far north as the Pilbara down to Esperance.
At about the same time, ABARES forecast a winter crop production on 14.4mt for WA - tipping the planted area would fall by 3 per cent to 7.8mha this year.
Derailments of a CBH grain train locomotives in July and September reignited concerns from locals about the state of Tier 2 railway lines and about the potential for more grain trucks to be forced onto country roads.
In August, Pacific Seeds unveiled a new vision for its 57th year in business, with a greater focus on innovation, research and adapting for climate change, according to managing director Barry Crocker.
The South Australia government announced it would lift the moratorium on GM food crops, a move which was welcomed by grain groups which had been pushing for grower freedom of choice.
And the iconic AWB wheat pool was quietly consigned to history, when the company said it did not plan to offer harvest pool products this year.
By August, growers were wishing for a good finish - and hanging onto hopes to reach average or above average yield potentials.
Jeremy Woods and his wife Jenna, who farm with his family at Kendenup, told Farm Weekly their crops were hanging in fairly well but a soft finish was needed to maximise potential.
"We are in a 550 millimetre rainfall average area,'' said Mr Wood, who had received just 200mm to that point in the season.
"So we are down on what we would normally receive, but the crops are hanging in there pretty well at the moment.
"We are going to need a wet spring though, as they are growing the plants are sucking more water out of the ground so it can come anytime it likes now.''
And that month, the State government announced a closer collaboration between the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and WA's 44 grower groups - initiating a more "Team WA" approach to industry-targeted ag research and development and disseminating and applying the knowledge gained from that research.
It was backed by a $4.38m State government investment over four years in the Grower Group Alliance.
In September, GIWA cut 10.2pc from its estimate of the WA crop from its August forecast - tipping production would be down to 12.3mt due to a combination of factors, including heat in the north and catastrophic frosts in the south.
And farmers who had had enough were reportedly already cutting crops for hay.
"There is still a patch of reasonable crop in the Kwinana port zone but in other areas the crops is really going to struggle,'' Mr Young said.
A group of 40 Australian grain growers enjoyed a 10-day tour through Japan and South Korea on the CBH grower study tour, which allowed growers to inspect the valuable end user markets.
The tour highlighted the emphasis the two countries were placing on food safety and security and was evident in the immaculate cleanliness and stringent quality standards of all the processing facilities participants visited during the tour.
Another hilghlight for many was the opportunity to learn to make Udon noodles from an Udon master and to then eat the noodles for lunch and a ride on a bullet train travelling at nearly 300 kilometres an hour.
New high-yielding Australian hard wheat variety RockStar was launched in October, prompting reports it would become a "headline act" in 2020.
Intergrain's new variety was tipped to be a hit with growers, providing a robust, flexible option to reduce the impact of seasonal variability on spring crops and generate profitable yields.
The 2019-20 harvest official kicked off in the second week of October, with the first canola delivered to Geraldton port.
And also in October, special celebrations were held to mark the 30-year anniversary of the opening of the ASW Noodle wheat segregation in WA.
Harvest activity in WA stepped up considerably in November after warm and dry weather - with yield potentials down on predictions early in the year and farmers anticipating an early end to harvest activities.
Geraldton zone manager Duncan Gray was predicting a good result considering the dry conditions across the growing season, but said that a lot of farmers in the zone would still be disappointed with how the season had panned out.
He said improved returns from minimal rainfall were achieved because more farmers in the area were deep ripping and applying lime to level the soil pH.
But Market Check head of strategy Nick Crundall said it had been a good year for barley.
"It has looked good all year and the early harvest results are backing that up,'' Mr Crundall said.
"Everyone who has harvested has said the crops have done at least what they expected or even a little better.''
