Issues with WA’s ‘broken’ canola seed supply system hitting Great Southern growers in the hip pocket

Great Southern grain growers have vented their frustration with WA’s “broken” canola seed supply chain which they say is costing them time and money. Woogenellup farmer Mark Adams said he had put in “a fairly serious amount of hard work and over-ordering” to secure enough canola seeds for the 2022-23 season. “We had to compromise on different varieties that we didn’t really want that we had to take,” he said. Mr Adams has also sown some non-hybrid seeds which he kept from last year. “We retain some of our own seeds that we harvest as a back up to falling short on the variety that we order, and we’ll use that as opposed to not growing canola,” he said. “But that comes at a fairly serious discount, because we can’t realise the maximum yield out of that through the fact that it’s not a hybrid.” In the Grain Industry of WA’s first crop report for 2022-23, report author Michael Lamond said the volume of canola seed retained in farmers’ sheds had caused “forecasting issues” for seed production companies, which had “voiced difficulty in matching demand when they are unsure of supply requirements”. The report encouraged growers to “make the system smoother” and offer “long-term commitments” to seed suppliers planning their breeding programs to “ensure supply will be met on-farm”. He said growers in the Albany West and Esperance Port zones in particular were finding it difficult to source hybrid canola seed. “The region (Albany West) is a regular buyer of hybrid seed and the lack of availability is a major concern,” he said. Speaking to the Advertiser, Mr Lamond said the issues with canola seed supply were “really complicated” and the result of several factors. High canola prices and early rainfall this year, as well as increased use of hybrid varieties, had led growers in medium to lower rainfall areas to sow canola, adding pressure to the supply chain. “There’s also this increasing demand in the Eastern States, as well as WA,” Mr Lamond said. “The national crop looks like its going to be greater again this year than it was last year.” Mr Lamond said overseas and interstate seed companies had struggled to get enough seed to sell. “The seed companies haven’t really produced as much as they wanted to, due to various factors like drought in Canada, or too much rain in the Eastern States, so that’s sort of exacerbated it as well,” he said. One possible solution would be for farmers to put in their order for canola seeds up to two years in advance and then store unused seed for the following season. “The hard thing is it’s probably not realistic because what people like to do is grow the newest varieties, and they don’t really know those in advance,” he said. Mr Lamond said he had spoken to the operators of both Australian and international seed companies who said “unequivocally, they’ll grow more canola if they’re not taking the full risk”. “Currently the seed companies are taking all the risk, 100 per cent of the risk,” Mr Lamond said. “The seed companies have said if growers potentially share that risk, as far as the price risk, they will commit more to planting in the future. “Where growers could take a position on some seed 12 months in advance, pay 50 per cent of what they want, and share part of the cost, it’s more likely they’ll get supply. “I think that’s probably where its going to go in the future, they’ll just have to be sharing the risk either from the growers or the seed merchants, as well as the seed companies.” However, WAFarmers grains section president and Esperance farmer Mic Fels said there was an unfair onus on the growers, describing this year’s canola seed supply as a “disaster”. “Some growers order double or triple what they need . . . because they know they are only going to get a quarter of what they have ordered,” Mr Fels said. “I ordered the exact tonnage I needed and this is what has happened to me. “We need to shake the whole system up so growers only order what they need and seed companies and resellers supply those orders in a suitable timeframe. “The market is broken and failing — there is no true, honest, information supply from the buyer to the seller.” Mr Adams said he would be placing his order for canola seeds for next year in the coming weeks. “But the issue is that we’re placing orders in June, we’ll be placing orders probably in the next three to six weeks for our coming season,” he said. “It’s not like we haven’t placed the orders early enough, it’s just that we’re constantly getting cut back on what we’ve ordered.” One way or another, there “needs to be a better system”, he said. “When we’re making the orders eight months, nine months in advance of when we need them, we really want security of supply,” he said. “I’m on the GIWA council, and we made suggestions to the canola association about doing a package where you can make a deposit to guarantee supply, but none of the canola seed companies are prepared to do that.” WA grain growers planted a record 1.6 million hectares of canola last year and harvested a record 3.13 million tonnes, with the huge canola yields alone pumping a record $2 billion into the State’s economy.