Port Pirie scores trifecta with first grain receival

Mambray Creek grower Ben Bussenschutt made the first delivery on behalf of the Bussenschutt family, with a load of Spartacus barley.

Ben says the family has been the first to deliver into Viterra at the start of harvest on more than one occasion now - the last time was in the 2017-18 season.

"Spartacus grows quite quickly and we normally start seeding at Mambray Creek from mid-April to capitalise on early rain before starting seeding at our Paskeville property," he said.

Viterra operations manager Michael Hill says the timing of the warmer weather in the upper Yorke Peninsula has helped finish off the crops earlier than other areas.

"Importantly, all of our sites across the network are well prepared and ready to go when growers across the state start harvesting," he said.

"In the lead up to harvest, we have been working closely with growers to understand their needs to ensure we're providing a service to them that is both valuable and efficient.

"We have added barley dynamic binning following feedback from growers and the success of wheat dynamic binning last year which delivered about $6 million in value to growers.

"Importantly, dynamic binning provides growers with the potential to access a higher grade for loads that are just outside of receival standards.

"We have also gained efficiencies in grain transportation and passed these on to growers through our Export Select rates, which have decreased at most of our major sites, or stayed the same compared to the 2018-19 rates.

"Our main focus is to operate an efficient, cost effective and sustainable supply chain, and we will work with growers during the harvest to continue doing so."