FARMERS across the country are reporting a bumper canola crop in spite of the much-publicised woes with wet weather in NSW and Victoria.
Western Australia is expected to crack a whopping 4 million tonnes of production of the oilseed, headlining a national crop the Australian Oilseeds Federation now expects will push through the 7m tonne mark.
The Western Australian crop alone is close to double the national crop of 2019, where 2.3m tonnes was grown.
"We're seeing great results all over, WA looks set to grow over 4m tonnes, in the past we would have been elated with a national crop that size," said Nick Goddard, AOF executive officer.
In its last crop report the AOF was flagging a 6.7m tonne crop but the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences this week had the crop set at 7.3m tonnes.
"WA and South Australia have both set records but equally the crop in the eastern states has not been as adversely impacted by bad weather as some had feared," Mr Goddard said.
"Reports coming suggest there have been good crops in northern NSW, the Riverina and now through Victoria, although the central west in NSW has done it tougher."
GrainCorp's weekly harvest report backed up Mr Goddard's comments.
A spokesperson said there were big receivals in northern NSW, with the focus now switching to Victoria's southern Mallee and north-east regions before the big canola producing regions in the Wimmera and Western District hit full swing.
Northern Wimmera producer Brad Martin said his canola harvest was going well.
"It was a little nerve wracking given the rain in spring but now we're into it and the yield and oil levels are both very good," Mr Martin said.
But it is WA that is attracting most of the attention.
"It has been a year unlike others in that just about everywhere has gone well," said Grains Industry of Western Australia oilseed council member Michael Lamond.
"We have seen excellent high yielding crops in the medium to high rainfall zone, which is not uncommon but this year we have also seen big plants in our drier northern zones and the yields there have been very good compared to their long-term average," Mr Lamond said.
"The average yield for the state is going to be over 2 tonnes a hectare, which is well above what we normally see," he said.
However, while the in-paddock performance of canola has been pleasing for growers, the market has dipped significantly in recent weeks.
Cash prices are now well under $700 a tonne delivered to most upcountry sites across the country, still a historically good price but a far cry from the $1000/t on offer earlier in the season.
Peter McBride, Cargill Australia spokesperson, said international factors were driving prices down.
"Over the past four weeks we have seen global canola prices come under significant pressure as global stocks are at record levels across the European Union, Canada and Australia," Mr McBride said.
"In addition there has been little demand for from China for Canadian canola seed and the EU markets is slowing which is Australia's main destination for canola seed."
Further out, he said the oilseeds complex was also nervous about US government policy.
"Going forward the market is closely watching the USA biofuel markets as regulators recently recommended lower then expected biofuel blends."
"If these measures are implemented this will place more pressure on the global canola oil market."
There has been a small adjustment to official canola standards to reflect the higher than normal amount of discoloured grain as a result of the wet spring.
Mr Goddard said the AOF consulted with domestic crushers, exporters and bulk handlers to ascertain the extent of the quality impacts and to assess options for dealing with weather-impacted canola.
As a result the AOF has established seasonal standard CSO1 (S) and CSO1a (S) both of which have a higher tolerance for seed with the appearance of mould at 40 seeds per 1000, up from 5 seeds per 1000 in standard canola segregations.