Harvest Report - 9 December

WA growers had a less interrupted run at harvest when compared to previous weeks, with over 15.5 million tonnes now in the CBH system.

Growers delivered more than 3.2 million tonnes across the network in the last seven days, the second biggest week of receivals for the 2024/25 harvest.

The Albany, Kwinana North and Kwinana South Zones all had fine harvesting conditions. Both Esperance and Geraldton Zones had some wet weather events, however this didn't impact on receivals in Esperance Zone.

Chief Operations Officer Mick Daw said if the current pace of harvest continues, most growers across the state will be finished before Christmas.

"Growers are again able to get the crop off quickly now that the weather is warmer and dryer, and we are having consecutive days of high receivals," Mr Daw said.

"All zones are on track to equal or exceed our forecasted tonnes, and the estimates forecasted by the Grains Institute Association of Western Australia (GIWA).

"At this rate, it is looking like CBH will take in the third-highest harvest tonnes on record, with harvest wrapped up before Christmas in most areas."

Falling Numbers testing units are now in place for load-by-load testing at nearly all sites in the Geraldton and Kwinana Zones.

“Falling Numbers testing allows us to protect the quality of the stacks in the CBH system and the reputation of WA grain in the market," Mr Daw said.

“We appreciate grower and transporter patience and understanding with our site staff while we go through this process and ask to remain respectful during this time." 

Receival Statistics

Zone Summaries

Albany

• The Albany Zone has received 3.5 million tonnes year-to-date, with 859,000 tonnes coming in the last seven days.
• Weather has been fine over the last week, making for good harvesting conditions.
• Wheat is the dominant commodity being received, with barley starting to slow down and canola wrapping up.
• All sites are open and average zone cycle time is sitting at 39.5 minutes.
• Sites are starting to fill up and some services will close, with the potential to cause an increase in cycle times as growers travel to other sites.
• The CBH Gairdner site recently passed their season receival record of 308,496 tonnes - and is still receiving grain!
  
  

Esperance

• This week, 474,700 tonnes were received. Despite some rainfall, the weather did not significantly impact receivals.
• Many growers are finishing their harvest programs for the year, with others aiming to finish before Christmas.
• All commodities continue to be received.
• Due to space constraints, some services at sites may be limited. Growers may need to travel further to deliver specific grades, particularly canola.
• All sites remain open, with cycle times averaging around 48 minutes.
  
  

Geraldton

• The Geraldton Zone has received 2.7 million tonnes this year-to-date, with 515,000 coming in in the last seven days.
• There were another couple of weather events across Area 2, with between 5 and 20 millimetres of rain received.
• Sites are receiving wheat, barley, lupins and canola, with wheat dominating. Growers are encouraged to bring in the remainder of their barley so we can use the storage for wheat. The majority of wheat is AWW2, which is causing delays on sites.
• All sites and services are open across the zone. Turnaround time is heavily affected by Falling Numbers load-by-load testing, which is being used to protect stack quality.
• Cycle time is averaging 50.6 minutes across the zone.
• Morawa broke its daily receival record on Thursday 5 December taking 7,081 tonnes (previous record was 5,950 tonnes in 2022).
  
  

Kwinana North

• The Kwinana North Zone has received 3.5 million tonnes this year-to-date with over 700,000 tonnes coming in in the last seven days.
• Wheat is now the major commodity being delivered into the system; canola and barley have all but finished.
• All sites and services are open across the zone. The Kwinana North Zone has Falling Numbers units set up at most sites which will slow cycle times for these sites.
• Load-by-load Falling Numbers testing has been introduced at all sites in Area 5 and 6.
• McLvie broke its daily receival record on Tuesday 3 December taking 9,817 tonnes (previous record was 9,455 tonnes in 2022).
  
  

Kwinana South

• The Kwinana South Zone has recieved just over 3 million tonnes received to date, with around 687,000 being received in the past week.
• Harvesting weather has been good over the past seven days, with only minor Harvest Bans in some locations on the weekend. 
• Wheat is still the largest commodity being received, followed by barley and oats. Most growers have now completed with their canola programs, with only a few hundred tonnes left to go. 
• Services at some sites are filling and will close within the coming week. Alternative sites and services will be made available to growers.
• Cycle times are slowing down as bins fill and grid availability is limited. Average zone cycle time is 38.7 minutes. 
• More daily records were broken last week at Corrigin, York, Dale, Shackelton and Meckering.