Harvest 2022: Records tumble and devastating losses

Victorian and NSW grain growers continue to struggle through a harvest of discontent, while those elsewhere are delivering record crops.

It is proving the best of harvests for some growers, and the worst for others as headers hit paddocks and reveal record crops and “tragic losses”.

The late harvest in Victoria and NSWcontinues to be dogged with issues as growers again down tools due to inclement weather and prepare to navigate newly-wet paddocks to inspect grains from green to perfect to pockmarked with damage.

However, while heavy quality downgrades are lowering bumper crop expectations for some, Victorian Farmers Federation grains council president Ashley Fraser said grain quality was overall better than expected although yields were slightly down.

“Some growers will be devastated and others will be pleasantly surprised, but I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had any issues,” he said.

“Wheat is reasonably good but we are not too far into it yet, canola ranges from exceptional to not worth harvesting, and that could be in the same paddock and barley is going for malt.”

Growers along the east coast have so far delivered 6.4 million tonnes to GrainCorp, as of Monday, with 2.9 million tonnes in NSW, over 2 million in Queensland where harvest is mostly complete and 1.3 million from Victoria.

VFF grains council president Ashley Fraser. Picture: Supplied

More than 3.8 million tonnes have been received by the Viterra network in South Australia. According to the latest South Australian Crop and Pasture Report, a predicted record of 12.1 million tonnes worth $4.4 billion will be produced from that state.

Meanwhile, the CBH Group report a record 13.4 million tonnes have so far been received in Western Australia as daily receival records topple and storage capacity struggles to keep up with demand.

Oilseed federation chief executive Nick Goddard said that, despite the almost tragic losses for canola crops in some places, “where it’s good it’s very good and where it’s bad it’s very bad.”

“The harvest will likely be another record for us, pushing seven million tons nationally,” he said.

Canola deliveries are slowing in most areas as growers move to harvesting cereals.

Southern NSW farmer Ian Trevethan direct heads canola and said 2022 had been “the most challenging harvest we’ve had in the last decade” due to green stems clogging harvesters.

“The yields aren’t quite as high as we’d hoped either. The disease burden, general lack of light intensity and then obviously the water logging has taken its toll,” he said.

Ian Trevethan from Howlong direct heading his canola crop.