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Western Australia has one of the most innovative grain industries in the world.
The current record harvest, in excess of 16 million tonnes, clearly demonstrates this.
This did not happen by chance
Just refining everything we do back in the 90s through to
the 2000s and now into the next decade again.
We are sort of starting to capitalise on what we learnt then and just starting to get it right I think.
Research and development and extension around liming,
around perhaps reduced fertiliser rates giving us more profitability.
There is a lot of new technology around which help
the profitability of farm businesses at the moment.
There's been quite a few innovative farmers & farm groups.
There's been a lot of technical input coming from the scientists
Careful management of expenses as the season has started to unfold.
I think the greatest thing about the agriculture industry
is how well we adapt to change.
Scientists, agronomists and consultants have worked alongside growers
to produce the crop varieties and production systems
we almost take for granted.
Banks, rural merchandise, technology and machinery companies
have helped bring all the essential inputs together
So we had a low cost, input cost year coupled by a good price for wheat,
coupled with a good yield that's almost the perfect scenario.
It's really allowed us to reduce debt and for me that's the biggest win out of it.
I know further north and east of the Wheatbelt hasn't had
as good of year as the rest of us, we understand that
it's not good for everyone.
Quite the yields we saw, in many cases the average yields
were 50 to 100 % higher than they normal would be in an average year.
It's pretty exceptional.
There's only a small area in Eastern and Northam Wheatbelt
that missed out, so we have to be aware of that.
We believe that customers had lost some confidence
because of the significant variability last few seasons.
2013 has allowed that confidence to come back into the businesses.
Season such as 2013 always remind all of us,
why we are involved in agriculture in Western Australia.
WA growers use their experience and skill
to manage the changing fortunes the early break,
the record dry winter and the timely spring rain can provide.
Our enviable handling and transport network has moved massive grain volumes
from farm to port in record time to enable marketers to capture premium export opportunities.
What CBH managed to do during harvest in 2013 was absolutely amazing.
We were so impressed with the way the grain was handled.
At some point we were looking at 9 million tonnes
potential production and then as the season went on,
we have had a huge big turnaround & it has been one of the
most positive fantastic year that we could have asked for
from what we were looking at from July.
If we could grow 3 tonne crops with a similar level of input then what we are doing now,
the grain production in Western Australia becomes probably one of the most profitable
agricultural industries in the world.
We can all be proud that our industry in 2013
will return over 4.8 billion dollars to WA's economy from this harvest alone.
Let's take a moment to reflect
and congratulate the industry you represent and to consider what it can
achieve in the future.
I see the future of the grain industry in WA looking for a
new revolution in farming. Just to get us above the ceiling as we have seen in grain production.
We believe the grain industry in Western Australia
has a very bright future;
we've got very strong farmers that are operating with the latest technology.
it's a great time to be involved in agriculture because it's just a
a positive buzz really.
There is so much emotion and you sort of reward built into it, not just money
but personal rewards that soak into your skin.
To get to 15 million tonnes in early December,
pretty impressive, if the whole state can get an average rate for the season,
who knows, could be anything.
So I believe it's only a matter of time before we achieve that 20 million tonne capability.
Given the right weather conditions and the current technology
that we have now got, 20 million tonnes is pretty achievable.
It would be fantastic to see a 20 million tonne crop
sooner rather than later. We've got the technology
and we've got the smarts in what we doing out there.
There is a great future for young people. There's a real future in Agriculture.
There's not enough young ones coming through,
so anyone's keen in Agriculture is going to get a fantastic opportunity.