![In spite of weather damaging quality yields remained surprisingly high in Victoria, which set production records, along with WA and SA. Photo by Gregor Heard. In spite of weather damaging quality yields remained surprisingly high in Victoria, which set production records, along with WA and SA. Photo by Gregor Heard.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/5Q2j7ezUfQBfUJsaqK3gfB/1f959dc5-cff0-401d-87a3-67ca298fd8d0.JPG/r0_307_6000_3694_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
AUSTRALIAN grain growers took off a record winter crop in season 2022-23, with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences making a substantial upward revision in its final crop report for the season.
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Better than anticipated yields, especially in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, which all broke their previous records, were enough to see total production climb to 67.3 million tonnes, smashing last year's previous record of 63.3m tonnes by 6.3 per cent.
ABARES made a sharp upward revision of production of 8.4pc from its December report, with flooding damage not as severe as first anticipated.
Even in flood-ravaged NSW the total production of 15.1m tonnes was still up 35pc on the 10 year average, although down 20pc on the near record crop of 2021-22.
Commodity wise wheat, 39.2m tonnes and canola, 8.3m tonnes hit their highest levels on record while there was also a big barley crop of 14.1m tonnes, the third highest on record.
ABARES officials said the wet spring, while causing damage in some areas, also allowed for huge yields in other areas.
The agency said 8.1pc of cropping land in NSW was severely damaged by flood and 2.9pc of Victorian cropping ground suffered the same fate, but in spite of the losses it was not enough to make up for the additional yields in other regions.
ABARES also cut its abandoned hectares estimates from the December report, indicating flooding issues were not quite as bad as previously thought.
While there were lengthy delays to the start of harvest and there was downgraded grain due to weather damage ABARES said grain
quality has been generally better than previously anticipated, although protein levels were down in WA and SA due to the record yields, with high yields correlated with lower protein levels.
Overall, around 24m hectares was planted last year, a slight drop from the 2021-22 season, spearheaded by a 9pc fall in plantings and an 11pc fall in Queensland due primarily to a wet autumn making it difficult to plant in a timely manner.
Of the record-breaking states WA grew 25.6m tonnes, 9pc above its previous record, SA grew 12.7m tonnes, which has smashed its previous record by 19pc while Victoria pushed through the 10m tonne mark for the first time, growing 8pc more than its previous record of 9.9m tonnes, with 10.7m tonnes.
Although it is not regarded as a major grain growing state ABARES also noted Tasmania had grown its biggest winter crop on record at around 200,000 tonnes.