EYRE PENINSULA, AUSTRALIA — Viterra received its first grain harvest delivery, barley, in Wudina on the Eyre Peninsula of Australia for the 2020-21 season.
Nick Pratt, operations manager for the western region at Viterra, said the company has been working closely with its grower customers and is focused on providing an ongoing valuable and efficient service during harvest.
“All our sites on the Eyre Peninsula are ready to go for when growers are ready to start delivering,” Pratt said. “Following strong and consistent demand for grain from our system this year, most of the grain has been outturned. Remaining stock is at historically low levels, which means our sites have maximum storage capacity and segregations available.
“We have seen grain move at a rapid pace and we continue to see this demand ready for new season grain to start coming in which is reflected in the strong shipping schedule from our Eyre Peninsula export terminals for the upcoming months. We have around 40 buyers in our system providing growers with access to domestic and export markets when they choose to sell their grain.”
Pratt said one of the key priorities every harvest is to ensure Viterra’s services on the Eyre Peninsula continue to meet growers’ needs, including opening hours, segregations and access to state-of-the-art infrastructure.
“I have been traveling around the Eyre Peninsula attending local grower meetings in the last couple of weeks to speak to growers and understand what their needs are over harvest,” Pratt said. “The season is looking promising with many growers feeling positive about their crops and the recent rainfall, which has been welcomed by growers throughout the region.
“Growers delivering into our sites this harvest can enjoy the extra benefit of warehouse to cash, which is a new service we released ahead of this harvest, which enables growers to instantly sell and transfer their warehoused grain to a cash price.”
Pratt said Viterra continued wheat and barley dynamic binning has continued to further efficiencies, which in turn has reduced rates at all its sites and storage and handling fees.
Viterra’s receival fees at all upcountry sites for all commodities and grades remain the same as last harvest, and for the second consecutive year, major wheat and other barley has not increased at upcountry sites.