LEADERS of major grain-based agribusinesses across the country have nominated labour shortages as their biggest obstacle at present.
Speaking at the Australian Grains Industry Conference last month Phil Hughes, chief executive of major bulk handler Viterra Australia, said there was a 'crisis' in the rural workforce.
"We've been through a tough time, there are fewer agricultural colleges providing the skilled workers we need, we've been through COVID-19 and the limitations that had on movements, getting workers together has been hard," Mr Hughes said.
Ben Macnamara, chief executive of WA-based CBH agreed.
"What has been clear is that we have found where the breaks in the supply chain are," Mr Macnamara said.
"Without people to operate the transport we run into trouble," he said.
"Across the supply chain there are a lot of shortages, there are very few shipping pilots, there are critical positions with only four people trained so if they all got COVID-19 at the same time you would be in strife."
He added upcountry workers had also been hard to attract.
"Skilled workers like train and truck drivers have been very tough to get, especially with competition from the mining sector."
"Unfortunately the ag industry has been a great training ground for people getting into mining."
Mr Macnamara said WA's well documented hard stance on borders during the pandemic had also made it difficult to get the workers needed.
He said the nature of the Australian grain supply chain meant it was labour intensive in the front half of the year.
"The challenge is to get the grain out at the first six months of the year when prices are at their best."
Mr Hughes agreed, saying in South Australia the crop would be executed and sent to customers by August or September and from there port operators were likely to see a lull.
Tony Geitz, Louis Dreyfus Australia Cotton Platform managing director, said companies had learnt to manage staff shortage volatility during the pandemic.
"We've learnt a lot about COVID planning, how it can impact the business and overall we've been pleasantly surprised by what we were able to do, we just need to be able to attract more labour," Mr Geitz said.
Mr Macnamara said creating a shock proof supply chain was one way companies could manage issues in moving grain.
"You need to make sure the supply chain is resilient to withstand those shocks we see in Australia, such as bush fires or flooding."
"Anything that stops our ability to access grain you need to have a plan in place to be able to be agile to get back up and going."
He said one area businesses were looking at was potential automation opportunities at upcountry sites.
"It's something that is already happening on a small scale," he said.
In terms of potential change to the grain transport sector Mr Hughes said sustainability targets and the move to decarbonise the supply chain would be an area to watch.
"The world wide shipping fleet, switching that over to run on hydrogen would require an incredible amount of investment, I would say first we would see train fleets either running on hydrogen or electrified."