The Hon. Adrian Pederick, Shadow Minister for Emergency Services (SA), The Hon. Nicola Centofanti, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries (SA), Joint Media Release, 30 August 2023

Following several weeks of uncertainty for South Australian farmers, the CFS has announced that the Grain Harvest Code of Practice will remain unchanged for the 2023-24 harvest season.

Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Adrian Pederick declared the move as “a big win for our farmers and grain producers” who can continue using the current Grass Fire Danger Index (GFDI), which has a cease harvest threshold of 35 at 2m.

“This announcement comes as a relief to many in our farming community who held serious concerns about the impacts the proposed changes would have on their harvest operations,” Mr Pederick said.

Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Nicola Centofanti, also welcomed the news of no change given how close it is to the start harvest season.

“Our farmers have voluntarily abided by the existing Grain Harvest Code of Practice for over a decade so it’s welcome news that they won’t need to worry about changes to the way they operate,” Dr Centofanti said.

“Along with the financial implications the proposal would have had on South Australia’s $4.6 billion grain industry, there were also fears about the risk of farmer fatigue.

If the proposed changes went ahead there would have been a significant decrease in the number of daytime hours farmers could spend in the paddock harvesting.

“The Liberal Opposition made it clear we would stand with our farmers and the state’s grain industry and we’re just glad the right outcome has been reached,” Mr Pederick said.