Albany harvest tops 3.2m tonnes

As the grain harvest for the 2017-18 season draws to a close, CBH Group has declared the harvest in the Great Southern a success, with greater tonnage than 2016-17.

The Albany Zone has received 3.2 million tonnes of grain so far, with CBH receiving 13.1 million tonnes of grain.

Last season, the Albany Zone took in 3.09 million tonnes in a Statewide record of 16.616 million tonnes.

Albany Zone manager Greg Thornton said the harvest would finish within the next few weeks.

“We’re at the tail end of harvest in the Albany Zone, with another 30,000-40,000 tonnes of grain to come through CBH’s sites which we expect to come through in the next month,” he said.

“Overall it’s been a good harvest except for a couple of weather events, and the grain quality has been very good, with minimal impact from moisture and frost.

“The shipping program is ramping up now and we’ll be busy moving tonnages to key customers around the world.”

The 3.2 million tonnes accumulated for the area also beats the 2015-16 total of 2.67 million tonnes.

More than 13 million tonnes of grain had been delivered to CBH sites by Monday afternoon, almost double dire June predictions of less than seven million tonnes.

The Grain Industry Association of WA recently forecast the 2017-18 crop, including seed retained on farms, about 14 million tonnes.