DELIVERIES are rolling into all three of Australia’s major bulk handlers, with the first loads of the season tipping for CBH Group in Western Australia and Viterra in South Australia last week.

This adds to harvest 2024-25 deliveries which are being made at GrainCorp sites in Queensland and far northern New South Wales for some weeks.

Grower Bronte Warmington. Photo: Viterra

Viterra received its first grower delivery for the 2024-25 harvest with a load of barley to Thevenard on the western Eyre Peninsula.

The load of Commodus was delivered to the terminal by Penong grower Bronte Warmington on Friday.

After a dry and frost-affected growing season, SA’s 2024-25 harvest volume is expected to be below average, but still with a broad range of crops and segregations.

Viterra general manager operations Gavin Cavanagh said Viterra has been working closely with growers in the lead-up to harvest, including planning what segregations will be open at which sites.

“This included introducing new lentil segregations, including at our Thevenard site, following feedback from growers that they were increasing lentils plantings across the state,” Mr Cavanagh said in a statement.

“We also increased Commodus barley and GM canola segregations.

“As harvest starts, we will continue to work with growers and introduce new segregations based on what grades they are seeing in different areas, which is made possible due to the size and flexibility of our network.

“We also utilise our strong relationships with our extensive buyer customer base to connect grower and buyer customers to match market requirements with what has been produced.

“This is supported by our quality-management systems which provide buyers with confidence the grain exported from our network will meet end-use requirements.”

CBH Group last week took in its first load for the WA harvest at the Esperance terminal, canola grown by the Carmody family in the Cascade district.

GrainCorp sites in Central and southern Queensland are taking in significant volumes of wheat, barley, and chickpeas, with the first cargo of new-crop chickpeas bound for South Asia scheduled to load in Gladstone and Mackay next week.

In Victoria, bulk-handling sites in the Mallee are unofficially expected to open before the end of this month, with dry conditions and frost hastening the harvest in some districts.

Harvest in the southern island state of Tasmania is not expected to start until December.

Grain Central: Get our free news straight to your inbox – Click here