In welcome news, Australia’s record wheat harvest is set to be even larger than predicted. ABARES latest Australian Crop Report highlights harvest figures of close to 36.3 million tons, almost 5.5% bigger than predicted.
“This is a fantastic result and really highlights the efforts of our world class Aussie growers,” said Brett Hosking, GrainGrowers Chair. “While there are parts of the country doing it tough who are in our thoughts, it’s nice to have some good news.”
The national winter crop production is estimated to be the highest on record, driven by record production in WA and near record production in NSW.
“This harvest wasn’t without challenges for our growers with a wet spring and summer meaning that some growers in parts of VIC and NSW experienced quality downgrades and weather damage. This is a fantastic result achieved by our growers.” said Hosking.
“We need to ensure that the focus is now on logistic efficiencies so that when we have excellent results like this on the farm, our growers have safe, quality roads to get their grains to receival sites and efficient port systems that see our exports off to international customers with the resulting benefits to the Australian economy.”
“While we also celebrate the bumper harvest today, we are conscious that the current flooding in QLD could impact sorghum crops at the point of harvest. Weather events like the one we’re currently experiencing don’t automatically translate into good soil moisture and another good season. It requires careful and agile management by growers to ensure potential is captured in future crops.”