Spraying pre-emergent herbicide in the Port Clinton region north of Ardrossan on SA’s eastern Yorke Peninsula earlier this month. Photo: John Davey

RISING operating costs and insurance premiums are among the biggest challenges faced by South Australia’s grain farmers, according to results just out from Grain Producers SA’s 2024 annual survey.

Responses from 353 grain producers from across SA laid bare the severity of the season just gone, with 95 percent of respondents reporting their 2024 harvest was smaller than the previous year’s, and more than one in three growers saying they needed financial assistance to navigate the ongoing drought.

GPSA chief executive officer Brad Perry said the survey showed 2024 was one of the most challenging seasons in living memory on several fronts.

“Between poor rainfall, damaging frosts and rising operating costs, the strain on grain producers in 2024 was immense and has continued into 2025,” Mr Perry said.

Frost compounded the damage for many, with 57pc of respondents reporting frost impacts, for some one of the most severe in decades.

At the same time, 85pc of growers said their farm-insurance premiums had increased significantly, further stretching farm budgets already under significant pressure.

“Seven percent of survey respondents told us they didn’t harvest a crop at all in 2024, and 68pc said their yields were down by 25pc or more, with drought and frost impacting hard,” MrPerry said.

Despite the challenges facing grain producers, after the 2024 season, 63pc said they were still positive in some way about the future of the industry, down from the 2023 survey result of 75pc and the 2022 figure of 82pc in 2022.

Almost 80pc of growers in the 2024 survey said they were still running profitable or sustainable businesses.

“Growers are doing everything they can to manage the conditions in front of them, but our survey showed the breadth of the challenges they faced after one year of a statewide drought.”

Other findings from the survey include:

• 33pc said yields were up to 75pc lower than those of 2023;
• 7pc reported they didn’t harvest at all;
• 56pc identified crop losses as the most significant challenge during the drought;
• 22pc of grain farms in SA are run by sole operators;
• 44pc of grain planted by SA growers responding to the survey in 2024 was wheat, followed by barley at 20pc and lentils at 16pc;
• 44pc surveyed indicated they were going through succession;
• 79pc were running a profitable grain business in 2024;
• 42pc of growers have used the ISCC system for exporting grain to Europe;
• 84pc indicated spray drift was an important consideration;
• 67pc said snails was the most common pest they dealt with in 2024;
• 48pc reported the 3G network switch-off had impacted on-farm connectivity;

Grain producers also made clear what they want the focus to be on going forward:

• 62pc identified operating costs such as inputs as the top policy priority;
• 54pc want action on roads and reducing red tape;
• 36pc are looking for greater promotion of agriculture in metropolitan areas;
• 34pc believe chemical access should be a priority; and,
• Nearly 70pc want the Grains Research and Development Corporation to prioritise research into new pest and weed-control strategies.

The 2024 GPSA Annual Grain Producer Survey was conducted between November 2024 and February 2025.

Source: GPSA