By Bronwyn Hastings

On the end of a growing season that started with a late break and ended with hailstorms and late rain in some areas, it appears this year’s harvest could be comparable to those of recent years.

Shannon Bros Horsham site manager Mick Purchase said 90 per cent of growers who had visited the grain receival and storage facility were happy with this year’s quality and yields. 

“Going back a few months ago, it wasn’t looking too promising,” he said.

“But I think everyone’s pretty happy with things at the moment. 

“I think last harvest’s summer rains, as much as they caused grief for all the growers and the grain receivable sites around the Wimmera and Mallee at the time, have left subsoil moisture and really helped get them through this harvest.”

Growers from a vast area bring their grain to Horsham’s Shannon Bros – from west of Nhill, to Balmoral, and Hopetoun.

“We take five commodities here – beans, lentils, wheat, barley and canola – and we’ve got all five going at the moment,” Mr Purchase said.

“We’re currently getting wheat from Hopetoun and Beulah way, as our Beulah site’s pretty much full already. 

“With quality and yield at the moment we’re quite happy, but it is only the start of harvest. 

“It’s going to end quickly, and the quality will back off a bit.

“I thought the quality was going to be quite average this year, especially the lentils, but surprisingly, the lentils are really good.”

Mr Purchase said the site handles an average of about 120,000 tonnes of the five commodities each year, with beans exported to Egypt, and lentils to India and Bangladesh, and wheat both kept in Australia and exported to China.

“We thought we may only get half the average this year, but we’re thinking we’ll get three quarters of that, which is fantastic,” he said.

“All the grain receivers in the area are doing well. 

“It’s not as dire as it looks out there, which has surprised us and surprised growers.”

Mr Purchase predicted harvest would finish at the beginning of the new year, after an early start, whereas last year’s harvest finished at the end of January this year. 

He said parts of the Mallee had fared better than others, which was echoed by John Ferrier, who farms 25 kilometres north of Birchip.

Mr Ferrier said 45 millimetres of rain fell at his farm at the weekend, with more predicted this week.

“We welcome any rain prior to cropping season, but with rain now, you ask what kind of damage it’s doing to the crop that’s left,” he said.

“We can expect a downgrade in quality will be the absolute major issue, and obviously a lesser price of that premium that we were getting for our wheat beforehand, too.

“But you look at the bright side – maybe it will store some moisture for next year’s crop. There’s always next year.”

Mr Ferrier said despite a ‘really tough’ season across the region and widespread low rainfall, he had grown out his crops.

“We’ve harvested every paddock so far,” he said.

“In late October we had a 60mm rainfall event when our wheat was still green. 

“Most of our other crops had finished, but the wheat responded well to that rain, so we ended up with reasonable yields with good quality, for the rain we’ve had.

“People were cropping as fast as they could, knowing there could be a rainfall event, but the rain we are getting is much more than was predicted by the Bureau even on Friday.

“Some of our wheat crops have gone 2.5-tonne per hectare, and some are down to one tonne per hectare.”

Mr Ferrier said he had harvested his barley, lentils and canola, with just wheat remaining. 

“Our lentils were making number one grade, so we really haven’t had any issues there, and the canola oil content has been pretty good, in that 42, 43 range,” he said.

“Grain quality depends on the wind at this stage – the humidity is still quite high, and every forecaster is saying we’ll get a light breeze. 

“We needed real wind like we had before the rain event came through.” 

The entire November 27, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire November,27, 2024 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!