THREE Viterra sites in the South East have broken their season receival records this year, in what’s being labelled a bumper harvest.
Bordertown was the first to set the trend on January 2, taking in more than 35,000 tonnes of grain.
The Frances site followed eight days later, on January 10, receiving more than 43,000t, while the season record at Wolseley was broken on January 17, with more than 142,000t of grain delivered into the site.
Viterra eastern region operations manager Jo Klitscher said the area, which included Adelaide, had received 1.67 million tonnes of grain so far during the 2016-17 harvest – another record-breaking figure.
“Last harvest, receivals at the end of January were 737,000t,” she said.
To help manage the large crop, Viterra has expanded its storage capacity at a number of sites, including at Wolseley.
“This season, we have built about 900,000t of new bunker storage across the Viterra network,” Ms Klitscher said.
“In the eastern region, Wolseley, Tailem Bend and Pinnaroo sites all had storage capacity added.
“Managing this season’s large task at all sites has been through close co-operation and hard work by growers, carriers and our employees.”
Yields in the South East have been exceeding growers’ expectations and we have been working closely with them to constantly monitor estimates. Quality has generally been good.
- JO KLITSCHER
It’s been a win-win for SE farmers, who have not only been able to reap the benefits of higher yields this year but are also experiencing reasonable quality.
“Yields in the South East have been exceeding growers’ expectations and we have been working closely with them to constantly monitor estimates,” Ms Klitscher said.
“Quality has generally been good.
“Even with the recent rain events, quality has generally held up better than expected.”
Ms Klitscher said the recent cooler weather and rain had delayed the end to harvest in the eastern region, but it was nothing to worry about.
“Harvest is still under way in the South East, with the Mallee slowly finishing,” she said.