WA’s biggest grain harvest pumps whopping $10b into State’s economy, smashing rail and shipping records

The biggest grain harvest in WA’s history has come to an end, with a record 26 million tonnes of grain smashing receival, shipping and rail records and pumping a whopping $10 billion into the State’s economy. It has truly been a harvest for the ages for farmers growing wheat, barley, canola and other crops in WA, with growers from Geraldton to Esperance experiencing one of their most steady and fruitful seasons in history to smash the last year’s 24.3Mt record. The huge haul has pumped a record total into WA’s economy — cementing grain firmly as the agricultural powerhouse and beating the prior financial record of between $8.5-$9 billion set in 2021-22. But the soaring cost of critical inputs for chemical and fertiliser, as well as labour, machinery and freight, has some farmers feeling nervous, preparing for a bumpy ride and hoping for a hat trick after two record crops in a row. WA’s main grain handler and marketer CBH Group received 22.7Mt of the recent harvest, a record by a country mile for the co-operative that started operating in 1933. It last year received 22.1Mt across its sprawling network of upcountry receival sites. The rest of this year’s harvest — about 3.36Mts worth — is expected to have been delivered outside of the CBH Group system to grain handling competitor Bunge, retained on farm, or sold through private contracts. In a normal year, about 1.5Mt to 2Mt is delivered outside the CBH Group system or retained on farms. CBH Group chief operating officer Mick Daw said nearly 100 individual site records were set across the network, including 53 sites with daily tonnage records and 45 sites that exceeded their previous record for total tonnes delivered to the site in one harvest. “The season looked promising from as early as April, with the GIWA increasing tonnage predictions in their monthly crop reports. Yields were expected to be high, and this was quickly confirmed as harvest progressed,” Mr Daw said. “Most growers ended up with exceptional yields, although harvest was not without its challenges in some areas with the ongoing wet weather. “To deliver such a huge crop is a remarkable achievement by our growers and a great lead-in to the celebrations for our 90th anniversary in 2023. “Deliveries are still trickling in from some growers, particularly in the southern parts of the State, so we expect total receivals for the season to be slightly higher.” Nationally, farmers are on track to harvest a third record grain crop in a row, with WA’s golden season offsetting the impact of devastating floods on the east coast that mean some NSW farmers could still be harvesting in March. It has been a long but satisfying harvest for farmers across WA, with the first load of grain delivered into the CBH system in September and some farmers only pulling up stumps in early February. Grain Industry Association of WA — a non-for-profit that collates a monthly crop report forecasting the WA grain harvest — predicted in January that yields would exceed 26Mt. It is a stunning result given that as recent as early last year, the prospect of WA ever reaching a 20Mt crop was still regarded as a pipedream by some after years of the WA crop averaging about 15Mt. Improved farming practices, and land once used to run stock being reverted to crop are playing a part, but the State’s 3900 grain farmers have widely been dealt good seasonal conditions this year. GIWA crop report author Michael Lamond, an agronomist based at York in the Wheatbelt, said it had been “season to remember” for farmers across WA and the back-to-back good harvests were widespread. “The crop was worth about $9b last year, so it is a massive contribution to the economy... when you take into account the businesses involved with grain — manufacturing, processing, and downstream industries,” he said. “Road and rail makes a huge contribution. A good harvest is of huge benefit to regional areas. “Years like this revitalise country communities... it has a big impact, everyone is happier and businesses are doing well.” “But there is nervousness about the coming year, because the cost structure has increased.” Mr Lamond said farmers were more “cost exposed” than ever, but most would agree it had been a highly-profitable year. CBH marketing and trading general manager Jason Craig said demand for Australian wheat was strong, particularly from customers in South East Asia and China, with national shipping stems booked out for the next three months. WA is well and truly set to keep its title as the country’s biggest wheat exporting State in 2022-23, with expectations that 87 per cent of the State’s crop will be exported. He said 3.4Mt of wheat had been exported from WA since the start of the grain shipping year — which starts on October 1 — compared to about 2.2Mt during the same period last year. “Since the Russia-Ukraine War, Australia has been seen as a reliable supplier and a lot of countries are coming back to Australia on the basis they know they are going to get supply,” Mr Craig said. “While Russia and Ukraine’s grain prices are lower than ours, customers are still seeing us as being competitively priced.” The USDA’s recent spotlight on Australia’s grain harvest said grains supply chain logistics in WA were improving after months of bottlenecks stopped CBH Group getting grain to port and on to ships in time to capture price premiums. This, combined with improvements in grain handling infrastructure at some of CBH Group’s receival sites, was expected to support the nation’s wheat exports to reach that 28Mt record — up on the prior record of 27.5Mt in 2021-22. As well as congratulating WA growers, Mr Daw recognised the contribution of all of those involved in WA agriculture. “Growing and harvesting a crop this size requires a huge effort from our growers, their employees, the CBH team, contractors, transporters, those working in agricultural support industries, and the families and communities that support those involved,” he said. “The focus of the CBH team now turns squarely to maximising the amount of grain we can outturn to our customers, with an export target of 2 million tonnes per month. This will optimise the value we return to our growers and set us up for next harvest.”