The numbers are officially in for South Australia's 2023-24 harvest.
A dry finish tempered strong expectations, with the final total yield of 8.7 million tonnes just scraping in above the state's five-year average of 8.52mt.
The figure is well below last season's record 12.79mt haul, but above the 8.45mt of grain produced in 2021-22.
It was also well below previous forecasting of 9.3mt predicted as late as February.
The numbers headlined PIRSA's final crop and pasture report, released today.
It said that despite a favourable start to the 2023-24 season, below average late winter and spring rainfall in all grain producing areas limited yield potential in a number of regions.
PIRSA Industry Partnerships and Intelligence manager Matthew Palmer said the slightly reduced harvest was largely compensated for by strong grain prices, meaning it was another good season for the grains industry.
Late season rainfall also resulted in quality downgrades in some regions, but strong prices for feed grades negated the financial impact somewhat.
The estimated farmgate value of the latest harvest was $3.3 billion, down from the estimated $4.6b of 2022-23.
Canola yields were thought to be average to slightly above in most areas, but with lower oil contents reported in early-finishing crops.
Lentil yields were variable, while hay crops were reported to have good bulk and exceptional quality.
On a commodity-by-commodity basis, all crop types fell from the record highs of the previous harvest.
The state's wheat tonnage was 4.87mt at an average of 2.18 tonnes a hectare; barley returned 2.23mt at 2.65t/ha; and the canola haul was 518,000t at 1.94t/ha.
The lentil return was 362,260t at 1.51t/ha; 217,425t of beans were reapt at 2.06t/ha; and 101,470t of durum made its way into silos at 2.77t/ha.
"Off the back of a record harvest, the 2023-24 grain season finished with an average yield but importantly, a more than $3 billion contribution to the state's economy," Grain Producers SA chief executive officer Brad Perry said.
"Last season showed that South Australian grain producers continue to be resilient and produce impressive crops, even with little finishing rain.
"With seeding about to get underway in many areas of South Australia, grain producers face a nervous wait for much needed opening rains."
Notable changes in terms of crop varieties grown included a rise in wheat acreage (from 2.18 million hectares to 2.23m ha), on the back of less barley plantings which decreased from 859,000ha to 843,000ha.
The area of lentils and canola grown continued its rise.
There was a close to 50,000ha increase in lentils grown from 2022-23 to 2023-24, while canola plantings increased 9000ha.
