Week ending Sunday 1 December 2019 report

We received over 580,000 tonnes of grain last week as cooler weather and light showers late in the week affected growers’ ability to harvest. Most grain received was wheat as the barley and canola harvest finishes up in some areas.

All of the 65 sites open for the 2019/20 harvest have received grain.

Viterra Western region Operations Manager Nick Pratt says sites in the mid and lower Eyre Peninsula recorded some large receival days.

“Our Cummins, Port Lincoln and Tumby Bay sites were the region’s busiest, and we had large tonnes delivered early in the week until Friday, when the weather brought the entire region to a halt,” Nick says.

“We are currently running 24-hour operations at our Port Lincoln terminal where we loaded our first vessel of new season grain last week.”

The Glencore Agriculture vessel was loaded at night to ensure grower deliveries were managed efficiently while we loaded the 26,500 tonnes of wheat bound for Yemen.

“We have four exporters with shipping booked out of Port Lincoln for November and December, with grain bound for a number of domestic and international export markets,” Nick says.

Read more about our first new season grains bound for export.

Upcountry sites have also been utilising evening shifts to move grain, with infrastructure dedicated to grower receivals during the day to maximise efficiency.

Viterra Central region Operations Manager Jack Tansley says despite overall volume for the region reducing slightly, sites in the south were still busy.

“Our Roseworthy site had its biggest day so far this harvest on Thursday and extended its opening hours until midnight. Our Saddleworth and Eudunda sites also recorded an increase in tonnes received compared to the previous week,” Jack says.

“We loaded domestic trains at Gladstone and Bowmans as our strong rail schedule continues.”

Viterra Eastern region Operations Manager Jo Klitscher says the region had its busiest week so far this harvest.

“Barley was still the predominate commodity being delivered into our sites last week, as our harvest is staggered slightly behind the rest of the state,” Jo says.

“However, we are now starting to see deliveries of all commodities.

“Despite the cooler weather on the weekend slowing down receivals, we remained open and will continue to ensure growers have delivery options with us.”

Did you know? 

• Since 2014, more than 150 employees from all levels of the business have participated in leadership and development training programmes, including Certificate IV and Diploma level programmes, to upskill our employees to excel in their careers and ensure a safe working environment.
• So far this harvest, we have sent over 100,000 push notifications to users of our app. We send notifications about site information and a notification to growers with the details of each delivery.
• Viterra is proud to be involved in grain judging competitions at agricultural shows and events at local schools to promote the importance of our industry to young people.

Disclaimer
* This data is subject to variation due to individual site operations and the timing of reports.
** The total 2019/20 data includes grain received into Viterra’s storage and handling network since 8 October 2019.
*** Eastern region data includes Inner Harbour and Victorian sites.