GrainCorp says communication will be key in managing difficult harvest

GrainCorp general manager of operations Nigel Lotz said the good news was that the company expected a solid harvest in terms of volumes, but said the complications presented by the wet weather would present challenges.

"There is the full range of conditions from people going ahead full steam now right through to paddocks that have been totally inundated by water," Mr Lotz said.

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"We're under no illusion, it is going to be hugely challenging harvest period for us and receivals will continue to come in well into the new year," he said.

Mr Lotz said the company was preparing for a larger percentage of grain entering its system after harvest.

"There will definitely be a shift to post harvest deliveries."

"The first priority for the growers will be to get the grain off but they may not be able to get it to our sites for whatever reason, whether that is road or even paddock access so we're working with them to ensure they will be able to deliver that grain when they are able to.

"Where growers are struggling to get trucks loaded we are hearing they will be storing grain on-farm temporarily until access is better, you'd imagine every grain bagging machine in the country is in high demand."

He said communication would be critical in keeping the harvest period as smooth as possible.

"We've got our site managers talking to the growers in their area, we're sending out our daily alerts and we're also keeping the general public informed as to what is happening, it's going to be a constantly changing affair so keeping those communication channels open will be vital."

Mr Lotz said GrainCorp was in constant dialogue with local and state government about the state of the road network required to bring the grain into its sites.

"You've got some areas such as the Lachlan Valley where the clean-up is just starting, you've got other spots where there are real concerns about the standard of the road into our sites, we're making sure growers and transporters have the best information about the state of the roads."

Mr Lotz said GrainCorp was also having to work hard to manage staff and equipment resources.

"Because of rain delays we're seeing a lot of crop coming in at the same time, the daily volumes are also tending to be a bit lower because farmers are being forced to harvest slower because of tangled crop and issues with getting bogged."

"On site we're trying to meet grower demand and offer as many segregations as we can while still remaining efficient."

"I wouldn't expect we will see any of those massive 300,000 tonne days we did last year but volumes will remain higher for longer."

He said GrainCorp would retain harvest staff longer than normal and look to attract replacements where staff leave for other commitments, such as returning to study, after harvest.

"It is a slightly different picture to some years, you're probably not getting the really long opening hours but the work will go on for longer into the new year."

"Christmas presents challenges for workforces but also there will be people for who the penalty rates offered are an incentive."

"It's been a frustrating year with weather meaning stop-start harvesting and site openings so far but we're starting to get a decent run at it which is nice."

In terms of segregation offerings Mr Lotz said the company was monitoring samples coming in to respond as nimbly as possibly to grower needs.

"It's going to be very difficult to meet all demands this year with such a wide range of qualities of grain coming in but we'll try and do our best.

"I would say we will not be able to be all things to all people, it will not be possible so some off-spec grain is going to end up elsewhere, whether that be on-farm or with other bulk handlers who see an opportunity."

"We'll be taking the bulk volumes and will pave the way there and as much of the niche product as we can."

Regarding moving the crop Mr Lotz said GrainCorp was talking to rail track operators about potential disruptions but said he was confident the export program could be maintained.

"We had the difficult outage on the range on the line Port Kembla last year whereas this year the issues are more to the west, meaning less of the grain will be using the track impacted."

Mr Lotz said GrainCorp was continuing to push ahead with projects to create more capacity in spite of the wet weather.

"We've had to pause works in places but we've got in additional storage at places like Barellan and Parkes where it has been pretty wet."

GrainCorp had its biggest week of the season last week receiving 1.33 million tonnes, mostly in NSW, where 730,000 tonnes were received, with northern NSW recording big volumes.

It takes total receivals to 3.04m tonnes.