WA farmers and businesses lead the way with record breaking harvest totals

The first Grains Industry of WA (GIWA) Crop Report for 2023 was released on Friday and the already high estimates for total grain production increased by more than 1.4 million tonnes to likely be 26mt.

This is a lift from the final figure for the 20221/22 season that saw a grain production total of just over 24mt logged for WA in total - with 21.3mt of this received by the CBH Group alone.

Subscribers have access to download our free app today from the App Store or Google Play

This equated to an impressive stake in the national production total which stood at 62mt.

With CBH's estimated total sitting at about 23mt for this harvest, the extra 3mt as estimated is divided between the other private marketers and streams.

GIWA crop report author Michael Lamond, York, said the national total would still likely be more than 60mt and WA would likely see an increase in its total percentage.

"It is worth making the point that last year WA contributed 38pc of the national figure in a record year for both sides of the continent," Mr Lamond said.

"This year the weather events have had an effect on the crops and will likely reduce the overall totals slightly."

Mr Lamond said while WA graingrowers were in the final stages of harvesting, the predicted back-to-back record production in WA was a reality.

While many growers in the northern region had finalised their harvest and others were winding up, there was still a long way to go to move what is onfarm into the bin, particularly in the south of the state.

READ ALSO:

Issues with moisture, sprouting, storage space and trucking capacity have resulted in about 20pc of harvested grain in the Esperance and Albany port zones remaining onfarm and still needing to be emptied out of harvest bags or temporary storage for drying, cleaning and delivery to grain receival sites.

This will take time, and the final tonnage will not be known until well into February.

Mr Lamond said CBH still has more grain to come in from Albany and Esperance and both areas also have more grain for other avenues also.

He said the GIWA estimates include grain handled by Bunge, as well as seed, private sales, private acquisitions - including dairy farms, feedlots, pellet mills, processing and also private onfarm storage in bunkers and silos.

"When you add all these up I think it will be around 3mt to contribute to the total," Mr Lamond said.

"This will then make the total more than 26mt."

Farm Weekly will keep growers up to date with the latest totals as they are released and look for the full story in next week's edition.