‘Best harvest ever’ breaks records at Viterra sites across SA

South Australian farmers are contributing to record-breaking deliveries into grain storage sites across the state with Viterra’s receivals surpassing the eight million tonne milestone last week.

A record-breaking harvest is being described as the ‘best ever’ by both grain-handlers and farmers, despite wild weather threaterning to hinder crops.

Latest reports show South Australian farmers were contributing to record-breaking deliveries into grain storage sites across the state with Viterra’s receivals surpassing the eight million tonne milestone last week.

Farmers Andrew and Emily Thomas.

The latest SA crop and pasture report, in November, estimated the 2022-23 harvest season would see a record high production of 12.1 million tonnes of grain worth a farm gate value of $4.4 billion.

On the Eyre Peninsula, growers surpassed 3.2 million tonnes of deliveries to Viterra sites up to January 15 this season, surpassing Viterra’s all-time deliveries record previously set in the 2016-17 harvest.

Harvest records also tumbled in the Central and Eastern regions, with Viterra reporting sites at Tailem Bend, Port Giles and Saddleworth and Tailem Bend also breaking records set in the 2016-17 season while the Snowtown receival site smashed the 2013-14 season record.

Murraylands farmer Andrew Thomas said he just finished what was his "best harvest ever". Picture: Andrew Thomas.

Murraylands farmer Andrew Thomas said despite a frustrating start to his harvest it was his “best ever”.

However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for his Moorlands broadacre farming business that grows wheat, barley, canola, oaten and barley hay.

He said one of the wettest Novembers on record, some hail damage to crops and some horrible winds early in the harvest caused losses across the district, but overall it was an “amazing year”.

“With the way the year went with a lot of rain we didn’t think it was going to stop but it sort of did come harvest time so it was ideal in the end,” he said.

Murraylands farmer Andrew Thomas said he just finished what was his "best harvest ever". Picture: Andrew Thomas.

“(We had) good yields, good quality, some reasonable harvest weather – we were expecting a lot worse – and most of all an awesome team that cared and put in a massive effort to get it all off in a timely manner,” he said.

He said the focus would quickly turn to his stock operation, with sheep shearing starting from next week.