Harvest record broken

SOUTH Australia’s 2022-23 harvest is set to break production level and farm gate value records, according to estimates in the latest South Australian Crop and Pasture Report.

The report expects growers to produce 12.1 million tonnes (up from 11.1 million tonnes in 2016-17) despite unseasonable weather and subsequent delays to harvesting.

“Even allowing for some downgrades of the grain quality due to weather damage, high global grain prices mean the harvest also has a record high farm gate value,” Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven said.

“The current estimate of $4.4 billion is expected to bring home over a billion dollars more than the previous record of $3.3 billion.

“This is fantastic news for our farmers as well as South Australia-s economy.”

The report also reveals high canola prices have resulted in increased canola area at the expense of barley, and the decline in pea area continued to a record low this year.

“Despite challenging conditions at times during the season, it is pleasing to see PIRSA’s latest Crop and Pasture Report is predicting record yields and value this harvest, making the grain industry in South Australia an even more significant contributor to the state’s economy,” Grain Producers SA CEO Brad Perry said.

“Additionally, the consistent rainfall over recent months has provided strong sub-soil moisture, so we anticipate this will set grain producers up for a great start to next season as well.”

The report can be found at www.pir.sa.gov.au/cropreport.