Harvest Report - 18 November 2024

Extended weekend opening hours at many CBH sites pushed last week's receival total to over 3.2 million tonnes, with the season total to-date sitting at 7,202,800 tonnes.

Almost one million tonnes were delivered over the weekend alone, with growers taking advantage of ideal harvesting conditions ahead of this week's forecast wet weather.

CBH received more than 500,000 tonnes on two separate days last week, and four sites - Narngulu, Hyden, Mount Madden and Kondinin - broke daily receival records. A number of other sites received totals approaching daily receival records. 

Chief Operations Officer Mick Daw said that CBH had been proactive ahead of the forecast rain this week, extending the opening hours of sites across the network to make sure growers could get as much grain delivered as possible.

"Rain is forecast across most of the Wheatbelt this week, which will slow or stop harvest should it eventuate. CBH wanted to give growers the chance to get as much grain harvested and delivered ahead of this rain," Mr Daw said.

"Growers in the Albany and Esperance zones in particular took advantage of this, each zone recording their biggest day of receivals for this harvest on Sunday 17 November. Receivals in the other zones were also steady.

"We have had good feedback from growers about the extended opening hours. Having more grain out of the paddock and in the bin is always better for growers.

"Across CBH, our teams are working with tarping contractors to cover as many stacks as possible, to protect them from the forecast rain. This may result in some services being restricted, although in most cases these services will re-open once the weather has passed." 

CBH has now received 40 per cent of the 2024/25 crop production forecast by the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA).

Tonnes stated are accurate as of Monday morning, 18 November 2024.* 

Zone summary

Albany

• The zone more than doubled its receivals last week and has now received over 1.3 million tonnes. This is despite a slower start to the week after a weather event, particularly in the northern part of the zone.
• All commodities are being received, with the major tonnages being barley and canola. Wheat has started to come in across the zone.
• All sites are open across the zone, with an average cycle time of 39.4 minutes.
• Most sites opened over the weekend, ahead of forecast rain this week.
• Hyden broke its daily receival record on Thursday 14 November, receiving 9,193 tonnes. The previous record of 8,557 tonnes was set in November 2022.

Esperance

• The start of the week saw some good tonnages flow into the zone, before sporadic weather events once again slowed harvest down. With more inclement weather forecast, growers took full advantage over the weekend to harvest.
• All commodities are now being received into the zone - barley, canola, wheat, field peas and lupins. 
• Barley yields have been strong, with over 60% of the forecast delivery. Canola is slightly higher at around 70%. Both wheat and pulses are in the very early stages of delivery. 
• Some high screenings are present amongst wheat deliveries, and services have been added across the zone to cater for these deliveries.
• All sites are open with the average cycle time for the zone sitting at 47 mins.
• Mt Madden broke its daily receival record on Wednesday 13 November, receiving 8,130 tonnes. The previous record of 7,643 tonnes was set in December 2022.

Geraldton

• Mornings have been slow but the extended hours at Mingenew, Carnamah, Narngulu, Moonyoonooka and Geraldton Grain Terminal are helping to get tonnes into the system.
• Canola and barley are starting to slow down with wheat now being the major commodity delivered.
• We have introduced utility wheat grades to cater for growers with high screenings.
• All sites across the zone are open. Seven sites and Geraldton Grain Terminal were open on Sunday ahead of the rain forecast for this week.
• Narngulu broke its daily receival record on Monday 11 November, receiving 13,623 tonnes. The previous record of 13,619 tonnes was set in December 2022.

Kwinana North

• Receivals have been consistent over the past week, including the weekend, with a number of sites opening on Sunday.
• All commodities are being received, canola and barley are starting to slow down with wheat now being the major commodity delivered.
• All sites across the zone are open.
• We have introduced utility wheat grades to cater for growers with high screenings. Cycle times are averaging 42 minutes.
• We had our biggest receival day this season of 129,000 tonnes on Friday 15 November.

Kwinana South

• After a slower start to the week following rain, receivals picked up to more than 100,000 tonnes per day for most of the rest of the week. 
• Some weather is expected early this week, which will impact receivals for a few days. Weekend hours were extended at a number of sites to allow growers to get as much grain in as possible before the rain. 
• Barley is now dominating receivals, followed closely by canola and wheat. Wheat volumes ramped up over the weekend, as most growers moved to wheat prior to expected rain falls. 
• Some canola segregations across the zone have closed due to storages filling. Malt services have closed in certain locations due to the lack of volumes. 
• Sites receiving AUH2 have been published on the CDF app. Cycle times have been slower at sites positioning grain for port shipping.  
• Kondinin 2 set a new daily receival record of 5,549 tonnes on Wednesday 13 November, partly attributed to the new auger pit and conveyors recently built at the site. The previous record of 5,218 tonnes was set in December 2022.