Week ending Sunday 04 October 2020 report

We received our first delivery for the 2020/21 harvest on Saturday 3 October, with a delivery of barley into our Port Pirie site.

This is the fourth year in a row our first receival has been at Port Pirie, following the delivery by Jonno Mudge on behalf of his family’s business Sandalwood Ag Pty Ltd.

Sandalwood Ag owner Barry Mudge says he’s happy with the quality of his barley crop.

“Our mild winters mean we tend to be a very early district. This year, we had quite a warm and dry September which finished our barley crop a bit quicker than usual, meaning we started harvest even earlier,” Barry says.

“Despite the early finish, we’re happy with our quality and to have received BAR1 on our first load.

“We’re very appreciative Viterra opened up for us on Saturday morning. It meant we were able to get three loads out of the way, which enabled us to continue harvesting during the good weather over the weekend. The employees were very helpful organising this.”

Barry said he is feeling positive about the season and is waiting for the rain to hold off so he can move onto his lentils and finally his wheat crop.

Viterra Operations Manager Michael Hill says the business is focused on providing an efficient and valuable supply chain to customers.

“All our sites are on track to be ready for first deliveries and we are working closely with growers to suit opening times around their needs,” Michael says.

“Since our first receival on Saturday, we have received further deliveries into Port Pirie and also a load of peas into Gladstone.

“Part of our harvest preparations included changes to our delivery process for the 2020/21 harvest to align with government COVID-19 guidelines.

“We recently updated growers about how the delivery process will be different this year. We appreciate everyone’s support in following our new processes and requirements at our sites to help keep our communities safe and healthy.”

Read about our changes to deliveries during harvest.

Viterra Human Resources Manager Alyson Gilbey says our harvest recruitment process of hiring up to 1800 seasonal workers across our sites is going well.

“We are well progressed through our recruitment and continue to review applications, conduct interviews, arrange medicals and provide training. Some employees have started working at sites in areas that have an earlier start to harvest,” Alyson said.

“Many of our groups have reached capacity and closed applications, however we still have applications open in some regions on Eyre Peninsula and through the mid-north.

“We are confident we will meet the number of workers required at our sites and we are well prepared for the coming harvest.”

Disclaimer
* This data is subject to variation due to individual site operations and the timing of reports.
** The total 2020/21 data includes grain received into Viterra’s storage and handling network since 3 October 2020.
*** Eastern region data includes Inner Harbour and Victorian sites.