WA harvest kicks it up a gear as CBH receives 1.5 million tonnes of grain in a week

WA’s harvest is picking up speed, with more than 1.5 million tonnes of grain delivered to CBH receival bins across the State over the past week. The figure, revealed in the co-operative’s second harvest report of the season on Monday, was nearly triple the volume received the week prior, when deliveries totalled 525,700t. CBH chief operations officer Mick Daw said total receivals this season stood at more than 2.1Mt as of Sunday, November 3. “As expected, harvest progressed much quicker last week, although some areas were delayed on Friday, with extreme heat and winds causing harvest bans,” Mr Daw said. “The Esperance zone also experienced delays due to rainfall over the weekend. “We will continue to keep growers updated on sites and service availability, including temporary closures due to weather, using the CDF app during harvest.” In the seven days to November 3, the Kwinana North port zone received a total of 402,400t, followed by Geraldton with 392,100t, Esperance (355,000t), Kwinana South (228,900) and Albany (176,700t). All receival bins are now open in the Kwinana North and Esperance zones. “The weather is looking good for the next seven days, so we are expecting high tonnages to come in across the (Kwinana North) zone,” the report said. “All commodities are now being received and high screening stacks have been introduced at some sites in the zone.” Slow receivals are expected to continue in the Esperance zone, with rain forecast this week. Barley and canola are dominating deliveries in the Esperance zone, though services are open for all commodities. Temperatures of up to 41C last week did not deter growers in the Geraldton zone, where wheat accounted for most receivals, as well as feed barley, canola and lupins. “Twelve country sites and Geraldton Grain Terminal are open, with Latham, Coorow and Marchagee sites scheduled to open this week,” the report said. “It was a relatively slow start to the week in the Kwinana South zone, however receival volumes started to build towards the weekend.” Most growers have started on their barley programs in the Kwinana South zone, with barley accounting for more than half of all receivals to date, and canola deliveries starting to build. Most sites across the zone are now open, with the rest expected to receive their first loads this week. In the Albany zone, barley and canola accounted for most deliveries, with some oats also coming in. Seventeen sites are open across the zone, with most set to open this week. Mr Daw reminded growers and transporters to download the latest version of the CDF app and practise good farm safety while harvesting. “I’d also like to encourage growers to thoroughly check all equipment for contaminants prior to use,” he said. “This will help prevent delays both at CBH and on-farm.”