While the CBH Group has confirmed harvest is wrapping up for many, it is still the focus for many growers who are still in full swing, with mixed results.
For those north around Brookton, their headers are working through canola, while around Borden and Woogenellup, wheat is being delivered and for some around Dumbleyung, their programs are set to finish on barley early this week.
The common message for many growers this year is the timing - the timing of rainfall and weather events, as well as the timing of seeding - with the earlier planted crops generally, but not always, the better performing and yielding ones.
The difference between varietal performance for canola was obvious for one grower, while another said one of their newest wheat varieties has done well.
Another observation was CBH's logistical improvements, after last year's record deliveries, making delivery much quicker.
Having spoken to farmers pre-harvest and at several different intervals during harvest, it has certainly turned out to be one for the history books in terms of the randomness of results between farms, within the same area, some merely kilometres apart.
Farm Weekly chatted with some growers they knew were still hard at it, in the driver's seat of their harvesters, tractors and trucks this week to see how they were progressing.
Brookton farmer.
A Brookton grower, who didn't want to be named, said his harvest was very slow this year and they were only about halfway through.
"We started about 10 days later than we could have," he said.
"We have a bit of canola left and then the balance is oats."
He said with the CBH Group Metro Grain Centre being unavailable last weekend also slowed them up, and it was not due to re-open until Tuesday.
Another factor was the uncharacteristic weather.
"Moisture from the last rains in September was good for the crops," the grower said.
"But the heatwave that followed really changed the outcome.
"The heat really had a big effect on how the crops ended up."
He said while their canola yield had been down, the oil content had remained in the high 40s.
"Ours has been up around 48-49pc," he said.
"We normally sit from 51-52pc.
"I have heard others came in at around 40-42pc, so we can't complain about this."
He said they had ok rain figures, but the hot, dry, windy conditions didn't help.
Jamie Spence, Borden.
Borden grower Jamie Spence started harvest earlier than usual, but moisture had delayed progress.
"We started in November with canola," Mr Spence said.
"It was an early harvest, but a slow harvest.
"We have had moisture problems, but it's good moisture problems caused by the cold."
He said it had mostly been cold moisture and not wet moisture, although they have had a few small showers here and there it was not enough to cause them any strife.
Being about halfway through their harvest, he said they still had about 10 days to go, but this could be a little longer with the predicted cooler weather.
"The late starts and early finishes may make this a little longer as the moisture creeps in," Mr Spence said.
Experiencing a very wet start, receiving 40 millimetres in March/April, but then only getting 10-15mm at the end of September, meant yields were extremely varied.
"The September rain just wasn't enough to fill the heads or the pods up," Mr Spence said.
"So we have had a low average of about 2.2 tonnes (per hectare).
"In saying that, the paddock we are in at the moment was late-sown and that has gone about three tonnes (per ha), it just managed to get the right rain at the right time.
"When it was sown has affected this (result).
"All our early-sown wheats have struggled with yield and quality wise as well, with a lot of screening issues."
He said while they were only just harvesting the later-sown wheats now, and had not delivered much to CBH to see what the quality is overall, it was borderline AS9.
Their main wheat varieties were Scepter, Valiant and Zen (noodle).
Valiant was relatively new to their program, introduced two or three years ago, but this season it has been the best performing.
Lower yields had made the harvest faster and easier logistically, as had the absence of truck backlogs.
"CBH has definitely improved logistically after last year's huge harvest," Mr Spence said.
"Last year we finished on January 18, but this year it will be around mid-December."
While yields have been down, he said grain prices have been good to make up for it.
Ross Pieper, Woogenellup.
Situated in the South Stirlings at Woogenellup, Ross Pieper said they had received 45mm of rain mid-November, which was detrimental to their harvest and they were due to finish on Monday.
"We still have some green wheat we planted really late," Mr Pieper said.
"This will be harvested in the middle of January."
This season their crops consisted of barley, wheat and canola, which were all down in yield.
"All yields were down this year a long way," he said.
"Screenings were pretty good in our wheat."
Harvesting was easier this year because the crops lacked bulk, with their canola oil affected only mildly.
"Our canola was pretty good," Mr Pieper said.
"Its oil content was OK, only down one or two per cent from other years."
He was adamant the timing of planting was too late and the crops were very average, but all the wheat was very good quality this year.
Murray Hall, Brookton.
A machinery delay early on held up Brookton grower Murray Hall this harvest, however the weather has been ideal with only a few harvest bans stopping movement and not adding too much additional time.
Mr Hall said they had pre-harvest vehicle inspections done and found an issue with a major element of their equipment.
"There were none of them in Australia and they are too heavy to fly - the main grain elevator," Mr Hall said.
"This caused a big disruption.
"But the fact that the weather has held, really worked in our favour to make up for this."
Mr Hall is also the fire chief for the area and having only had two harvest bans helped them make up some of the lost time, as he has not had to spend too much time off-farm.
Another minor hiccup was the closure of the local Brookton receival service.
"We had to cart the last of our canola to York," Mr Hall said.
"We missed the optimum window, but we are on to the wheat now."
He said the area and tonnage was up for canola with final results being above average.
"We finished canola three days later last year," Mr Hall said.
"We are above average this year again, with our eastern farm down in yield at average and then our varieties vary, so within that average the BASF varieties are below average.
"Some of these are terribly woeful.
"One paddock has three different varieties, we had Raptor go well north of 3t/ha, to 44Y27 well north of 3t/ha, but then our InVigor 5520P, I don't think even made a tonne."
He said it was definitely varietal and he had heard noise on the radio about varieties and he agreed.
Mr Hall said they had about 10 different varieties of canola planted, due to the seed supply being poor.
"We have to commit to our sales contracts, but when we go to buy the seed it as their discretion for delivery," he said.
The overall season has been a mixed one, starting with getting bogged on the first day of seeding.
It didn't get any better - setting a record of being bogged almost 50 times.
Two successive rain events delivered a lot of rain in March.
"Firstly the rain came in from the north," Mr Hall said.
"Then the very next day a front came through and washed out the railway line here, for the first time in the history of the railway line.
"It caused flash flooding for Brookton.
"We estimate we had 600 millimetres in the growing season and either side of it."
Mr Hall said he didn't know exactly, but guessed they had had lost about four kilometres of boundary fencing this year due to the rain.
Unseasonable heat later in the season delivered an unwelcome hot blast, damaging the wheat crops.
"The north west wind was the biggest change in the landscape of the season," he said.
"This also meant that aspect had a big influence on this year's crops."
Despite this, they will go close to having record barley and oat crops, with the wheat just above average.
For canola there was no real difference between crops sown on pasture or wheat stubble paddocks.
"The oil content has been mixed," Mr Hall said.
"This ranges from 44-45 per cent (oil content) and down to 38pc."
"There was also a huge biomass in the canola."
Mr Hall said after the earlier delays, their speed had picked up and they were a little over halfway into their harvest program.
