Services
Postharvest survey review
Thank you for taking part in our annual postharvest survey.
The valuable feedback we receive from our grower and carrier customers helps us identify what we are doing well, and where we can improve and make changes.
We have summarised the results below, and highlighted what we are doing in response to the feedback we received.
| Storage and handling | Feedback | Our response |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | Feedback | Our response |
| Communications and online services |
Feedback | Our response |
Storage and handling
| Services available to growers through the Viterra network |
|
We asked growers why they chose to deliver their grain to Viterra this harvest, and which services provided by Viterra are most important to them. Growers identified having access to multiple buyers as the most important service provided by Viterra. This was also amongst the highest rated options when asking why they chose to deliver to Viterra this harvest. We are pleased to offer our grower customers access to over 45 buyers including 18 exporters, providing more choice when selling their grain. Of the buyers in our network, so far 26 have posted cash prices for 2023/24 season grain, allowing growers to instantly sell and transfer their warehoused grain to a cash price using Viterra’s warehouse to cash. Our world-class ports, efficient and effective supply chain, quality focus and strong relationships with end use customers help us find and maintain buyers and market access for southern Australian growers’ grain. |
| Experience delivering to Viterra |
|
We asked growers and carriers to rate their experience at the sites they deliver to. Respondents rated service from Viterra employees the highest of all services at site. Our 800 permanent employees were supported by over 1700 seasonal workers this harvest. Our incredible team work hard to provide a high level of service to our customers, while moving grain through our sites safely and efficiently. Ratings for classification and opening hours remained positive, with a majority of respondents rating the services excellent or very good. We made modifications to our classification training for harvest workers to support greater consistency in the classification process. We also trialled a formalised classification team lead role at some sites. The team leads took part in additional training in the lead up to harvest to develop skills in customer service and leading and mentoring small teams. We worked closely with our grower customers to ensure our opening hours met their needs, which was particularly important with harvest starting up to four weeks earlier than usual and weather conditions later in the year causing challenges for growers trying to harvest and deliver their crop. Prior to harvest we reviewed and updated our traffic management plans to ensure the most efficient route for trucks at our sites and support quick turnaround times. Growers highlighted efficient turnaround times as the second most important service provided to them by Viterra, and also as an area for continued improvement. We continued to invest in new drive over hopper stackers, and performed upgrades to our existing drive over hopper stacker fleet to increase efficiencies and reliability. Overall, receival/elevation equipment capacity was noted as an area for further investment. Segregations were also highlighted as an area for improvement, with ratings reducing slightly year on year. |
We are continuing our focus on increasing elevation capacity at our sites, which will support efficient turnaround times.
We have ordered four new self-propelled drive over hopper stackers and plan to upgrade our five remaining small deck (joey) units with larger decks. Four of these will be fitted with custom designed canola units to increase efficiencies. We are also continuing to invest in other mobile equipment, including front end loaders, to improve our grower experience
We are looking to design, build and install a self-propelled system on an existing drive over hopper stacker to improve efficiencies during harvest. If the trial is successful, we will look to expand this system to more of our existing fleet. We will also continue to investigate and trial the use of other technology to increase elevation capacity and improve the delivery experience.
We are engaging with growers earlier to understand what they are planting this season, which helps inform our segregations.
To support seed retention and procurement for next harvest, in November 2023, we provided growers with an early indication of market demand and our planned malt barley, lentil and pea segregations for the 2024/25 harvest.
We plan to release a preliminary segregation plan soon following further consultation with silo chairs, and encourage growers to provide feedback to assist us in our planning. One of the ways growers can provide their feedback is through our annual planting survey, which we will release in the coming months and is incredibly important in helping us understand growers’ needs. As we continue to review our segregations in the lead up to the 2024/25 harvest, we will also work with our buyer customers to determine market demand.
We recently invested in emerging technology which allows us to test the variety of malt barley samples in our laboratory. This exciting and innovative technology will support our classification process and help us maintain market access for growers’ malt barley by confirming the variety of malt deliveries to ensure there is no varietal contamination within our segregations. As a part of our quality control programme we retain samples of all malt barley deliveries for traceability.
| Services available to growers through the Viterra network |
|
We asked growers why they chose to deliver their grain to Viterra this harvest, and which services provided by Viterra are most important to them. Growers identified having access to multiple buyers as the most important service provided by Viterra. This was also amongst the highest rated options when asking why they chose to deliver to Viterra this harvest. We are pleased to offer our grower customers access to over 45 buyers including 18 exporters, providing more choice when selling their grain. Of the buyers in our network, so far 26 have posted cash prices for 2023/24 season grain, allowing growers to instantly sell and transfer their warehoused grain to a cash price using Viterra’s warehouse to cash. Our world-class ports, efficient and effective supply chain, quality focus and strong relationships with end use customers help us find and maintain buyers and market access for southern Australian growers’ grain. |
| Experience delivering to Viterra |
|
We asked growers and carriers to rate their experience at the sites they deliver to. Respondents rated service from Viterra employees the highest of all services at site. Our 800 permanent employees were supported by over 1700 seasonal workers this harvest. Our incredible team work hard to provide a high level of service to our customers, while moving grain through our sites safely and efficiently. Ratings for classification and opening hours remained positive, with a majority of respondents rating the services excellent or very good. We made modifications to our classification training for harvest workers to support greater consistency in the classification process. We also trialled a formalised classification team lead role at some sites. The team leads took part in additional training in the lead up to harvest to develop skills in customer service and leading and mentoring small teams. We worked closely with our grower customers to ensure our opening hours met their needs, which was particularly important with harvest starting up to four weeks earlier than usual and weather conditions later in the year causing challenges for growers trying to harvest and deliver their crop. Prior to harvest we reviewed and updated our traffic management plans to ensure the most efficient route for trucks at our sites and support quick turnaround times. Growers highlighted efficient turnaround times as the second most important service provided to them by Viterra, and also as an area for continued improvement. We continued to invest in new drive over hopper stackers, and performed upgrades to our existing drive over hopper stacker fleet to increase efficiencies and reliability. Overall, receival/elevation equipment capacity was noted as an area for further investment. Segregations were also highlighted as an area for improvement, with ratings reducing slightly year on year. |
We are continuing our focus on increasing elevation capacity at our sites, which will support efficient turnaround times.
We have ordered four new self-propelled drive over hopper stackers and plan to upgrade our five remaining small deck (joey) units with larger decks. Four of these will be fitted with custom designed canola units to increase efficiencies. We are also continuing to invest in other mobile equipment, including front end loaders, to improve our grower experience
We are looking to design, build and install a self-propelled system on an existing drive over hopper stacker to improve efficiencies during harvest. If the trial is successful, we will look to expand this system to more of our existing fleet. We will also continue to investigate and trial the use of other technology to increase elevation capacity and improve the delivery experience.
We are engaging with growers earlier to understand what they are planting this season, which helps inform our segregations.
To support seed retention and procurement for next harvest, in November 2023, we provided growers with an early indication of market demand and our planned malt barley, lentil and pea segregations for the 2024/25 harvest.
We plan to release a preliminary segregation plan soon following further consultation with silo chairs, and encourage growers to provide feedback to assist us in our planning. One of the ways growers can provide their feedback is through our annual planting survey, which we will release in the coming months and is incredibly important in helping us understand growers’ needs. As we continue to review our segregations in the lead up to the 2024/25 harvest, we will also work with our buyer customers to determine market demand.
We recently invested in emerging technology which allows us to test the variety of malt barley samples in our laboratory. This exciting and innovative technology will support our classification process and help us maintain market access for growers’ malt barley by confirming the variety of malt deliveries to ensure there is no varietal contamination within our segregations. As a part of our quality control programme we retain samples of all malt barley deliveries for traceability.
Safety
Our number one priority is to ensure everyone who attends our sites returns home safely. Feedback in our postharvest survey reflects our commitment, with 82% of growers and carriers recognising that Viterra highly values safety based on their experience at our sites.
Comments included:
“Viterra is always emphasising the importance of safety.”
“There’s plenty of signs and the instructions given by employees were clear and easy to understand.”
“Viterra have an excellent standard with safety.”
At the start of harvest, we shared important information with growers and carriers on how they could assist us in ensuring a safe and successful harvest.
During harvest, we rolled out a truck safety campaign designed to educate drivers and reduce vehicle incidents. This included having our grid attendants standing in a position to be better seen and able to communicate with drivers as they tipped their trailers. We also sent reminders to growers and carriers about their heavy vehicle mass management responsibilities.
We are reviewing the content of our safety card induction for grower deliveries to ensure it clearly outlines the relevant safety requirements, procedures and responsibilities related to transporting grain at Viterra sites.
We are also putting in place new procedures for how we monitor the safety card status of those who visit site, so we can verify they are up to date with their induction and know how to keep themselves and others safe while at our sites.
We will maintain our strong safety focus and look at further strategies, training and education campaigns to reduce the risk of injuries and ensure a safe environment for everyone on site.
Our number one priority is to ensure everyone who attends our sites returns home safely. Feedback in our postharvest survey reflects our commitment, with 82% of growers and carriers recognising that Viterra highly values safety based on their experience at our sites.
Comments included:
“Viterra is always emphasising the importance of safety.”
“There’s plenty of signs and the instructions given by employees were clear and easy to understand.”
“Viterra have an excellent standard with safety.”
At the start of harvest, we shared important information with growers and carriers on how they could assist us in ensuring a safe and successful harvest.
During harvest, we rolled out a truck safety campaign designed to educate drivers and reduce vehicle incidents. This included having our grid attendants standing in a position to be better seen and able to communicate with drivers as they tipped their trailers. We also sent reminders to growers and carriers about their heavy vehicle mass management responsibilities.
We are reviewing the content of our safety card induction for grower deliveries to ensure it clearly outlines the relevant safety requirements, procedures and responsibilities related to transporting grain at Viterra sites.
We are also putting in place new procedures for how we monitor the safety card status of those who visit site, so we can verify they are up to date with their induction and know how to keep themselves and others safe while at our sites.
We will maintain our strong safety focus and look at further strategies, training and education campaigns to reduce the risk of injuries and ensure a safe environment for everyone on site.
Communication and online services
Viterra’s online services (Viterra website, Ezigrain, Viterra app and digital delivery advice) were highly rated by growers and carriers, with over 75% of respondents rating each service either excellent or very good.
Overall, Ezigrain received the highest rating of our online platforms, with 86% of growers who used the service rating it excellent or very good.
Respondents highlighted the stability of the Viterra app, particularly on Android devices, as an area for further improvement.
Similar to previous harvests, growers and carriers highlighted SMS/app notifications and the Viterra app as their preferred methods for receiving harvest information from Viterra.
Feedback included:
“Communication via text and the app is fantastic.”
“Love the app for keeping up to date.”
“Very good, easy to access [information] through SMS messages and the Viterra app.”
As the Viterra app handles an incredibly high volume of traffic during harvest, we will continue to investigate and implement ways to improve performance and stability to provide a better experience for our customers.
We will review suggestions for improvements to our digital services from growers and carriers. Some suggestions we are currently exploring for future harvests include:
“The grower is notified of the grade before the truck reaches the grid via the app.”
We are working on sending a notification to growers once their grain has been classified.
“Not sure how to simplify it but setting up new deliveries from a paddock first time is a little confusing.”
We are designing a new paddock management process, which will allow growers to streamline their paddock set up. This includes adding a commodity and variety to more than one paddock at once.
“I have trouble finding quality standards for commodities on the website” and “site maps to be accessed via app.”
We are looking into adding a new quick links menu in the Viterra app which gives users access to receival standards and traffic management plans on our website, as well as other commonly used resources.
We are also making improvements to Ezigrain prior to the 2024/25 harvest, giving you greater control over who has access to view your information and increasing the security of your account.
Viterra’s online services (Viterra website, Ezigrain, Viterra app and digital delivery advice) were highly rated by growers and carriers, with over 75% of respondents rating each service either excellent or very good.
Overall, Ezigrain received the highest rating of our online platforms, with 86% of growers who used the service rating it excellent or very good.
Respondents highlighted the stability of the Viterra app, particularly on Android devices, as an area for further improvement.
Similar to previous harvests, growers and carriers highlighted SMS/app notifications and the Viterra app as their preferred methods for receiving harvest information from Viterra.
Feedback included:
“Communication via text and the app is fantastic.”
“Love the app for keeping up to date.”
“Very good, easy to access [information] through SMS messages and the Viterra app.”
As the Viterra app handles an incredibly high volume of traffic during harvest, we will continue to investigate and implement ways to improve performance and stability to provide a better experience for our customers.
We will review suggestions for improvements to our digital services from growers and carriers. Some suggestions we are currently exploring for future harvests include:
“The grower is notified of the grade before the truck reaches the grid via the app.”
We are working on sending a notification to growers once their grain has been classified.
“Not sure how to simplify it but setting up new deliveries from a paddock first time is a little confusing.”
We are designing a new paddock management process, which will allow growers to streamline their paddock set up. This includes adding a commodity and variety to more than one paddock at once.
“I have trouble finding quality standards for commodities on the website” and “site maps to be accessed via app.”
We are looking into adding a new quick links menu in the Viterra app which gives users access to receival standards and traffic management plans on our website, as well as other commonly used resources.
We are also making improvements to Ezigrain prior to the 2024/25 harvest, giving you greater control over who has access to view your information and increasing the security of your account.
Congratulations to our community donation prize winners
By taking part in our postharvest survey, growers and carriers had the opportunity to go in the draw to win 1 of 5 $1000 donations to a community group of their choice.
Congratulations to the winners:
- Allan Needs, Lameroo grower nominated the Lameroo Tennis Club
- Louise Hicks, Frances grower nominated the Border Districts Football Club
- Keith Mccreight, Coobowie carrier nominated the Royal Flying Doctor Service
- Edward Hawker, Clare grower nominated the Clare Valley Flying Group
- Annabel O'Dea, Yongala grower nominated the Yongala Recreation Park
Viterra is a proud supporter of the communities where we operate and is pleased to be able to support local community groups on behalf of our grower and carrier customers.