WA growers on track for biggest harvest in Australian history, with forecasts bumped to 22.1mt

WA growers are set to make history as they steamroll towards the biggest harvest in Australian history, with yields exceeding all expectations and a bin-busting 22.1 million tonnes forecast. It is set to be the biggest harvest in the country’s history and smash WA’s 2018 record by 17 per cent, delivering more than $8 billion to the State’s economy. While many growers in the north of the grainbelt have finished up already, those in the south have only just got the headers whirring, with harvest set to go for another four to five weeks. In the latest Grain Industry Association of Western Australia Crop Report, forecasts have been revised to huge figures for the Kwinana (9.79mt), Albany (4.56mt), Esperance (3.84mt) and Geraldton Port Zones (3.92mt). The only time another State has come remotely close to the mammoth yield is New South Wales in 2020, when growers delivered 17.8mt. On Tuesday, Australia’s biggest grain handler CBH Group’s long-standing harvest record of 16.4mt toppled, when deliveries across its receival network reached 16.6mt. Several sites have broken daily delivery records, with farmers racing against the clock to get grain into local bins before they are filled to the brim and shut down. It comes on the back of the wettest start to the growing season in decades — if not ever— for many growers, who planted a record 9m hectares to take advantage of the soil moisture after three years of drought over much of the State. Record grain prices — with canola peaking at more than $1000/t — also influenced a record cropping area. GIWA Crop Report author Michael Lamond said yields across the State were coming in 10-20 per cent above estimates, boosting confidence WA would be looking at a record-breaking summer. “As harvest has moved south and grain yields continued to exceed estimates, the focus has shifted from ‘if we would hit 20m tonnes’ to ‘how are we going to deal with so much grain?’,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible.” He said a combination of factors had led to the bin-busting numbers and it was a credit to the growers and agronomists how well crops were yielding. “There’s only half the sheep there was 20 years ago and there’s been about 250,000ha increase in the cropped area and that’s fuelling a lot of the extra tonnes,” Mr Lamond said. “We’ve got some really elite growers and agronomists in WA and the better, more modern cropping practices being implemented has contributed. It’s all of those little two-percenters coming together. “Getting this spike in tonnes is a function of very efficient cropping.” Mr Lamond also credited a lack of heat with assisting the yields. “We normally lose a lot through heat,” he said. “But because there’s been a massive amount of soil ameliorated, the heat shock is not as drastic as it used to be.” Boyup Brook farmers Hayley and Clinton Graham are eagerly awaiting a part for their header so they can start harvesting their 196ha of lupins, 119ha of barley, and 25ha of oats. The couple farm with Mrs Graham’s parents Harold and Helen Wass, who also farm in Coorow with their son and daughter-in-law Charles and Shane Wass. They also have two keen helpers — their children Hannah, 5, and John, 4. Originally farming in Perenjori, the family are enjoying life in the high-rainfall zone and despite battles with weeds after a huge 942mm of rainfall this year, are confident crops will yield well. “We’re keen to get the header in,” Mrs Graham said. “We’re happy with how it’s looking but you don’t really know until you get started.” “That’s why Dad bought here. He was chasing rainfall. Even when we had a couple of dry years we still got 450mm, and that’s double you’d get in Coorow or Perenjori. And we still got good crops in those years. “My brother in Coorow who’s doing canola and wheat is about 50 per cent through and he’s very happy.” Mr Lamond said canola was the most profitable crop in 2021 for many, while oat yields were “spectacular” and legumes were “star performers”. While it is one for the record books, there have been some challenges, particularly in the low-rainfall regions. “Harvest has been frustratingly slow in the south of the State due to cool conditions and the time it has taken to dry down. Although this, of course, is one of the main reasons why WA is hitting a record tonnage,” Mr Lamond said. “The large area of crop that was sown in the low-rainfall regions of the State has not produced the tonnage that was set up over winter due to the widespread frosts in September and the lack of spring rain. This has been devastating for those growers as it was looking so good up until the frost. “Soil moisture profiles are very dry in the medium and low-rainfall regions due to the lack of spring rain and slow finish, allowing crops to completely dry out the profiles.” Mr Lamond said there would be a reduction in cropped area in 2022 unless there was substitutional summer rain and an early break, and anticipated growers would look to more “free” nitrogen from legumes and pastures in 2022.