The harvest season in Nhill, Kaniva, and the district brought a mixed bag of results for farmers. While some crops exceeded expectations, others underperformed, reflecting the challenges posed by the season’s dry conditions.

Kaniva farmer Brett Jewell commented, “It certainly has been interesting, with some crops yielding better than expected and others worse. Considering the rainfall this year, we are happy with what we have grown. The wheat we are finishing on is yielding really well, but it also has the best paddock history. My son Olly has been doing a lot of the header driving on the wheat, with my youngest son Ben as his co-pilot. Despite the dry year, there are certainly a lot of snails in the crops, even though we baited. That will be an issue to deal with in the next few months.”

Diapur’s Tom Cook shared similar sentiments: “Our harvest had a fair bit of variation, which wasn’t surprising. It just reinforced how important moisture conservation is, but also that not all soils have the same ability to store moisture. The biggest takeaway from last year is that it’s hard to work with a variable climate, in variable soil types, and expect consistent results. We’re looking forward to seeing what 2025 has to offer.”

The Nhill Free Press and Kaniva Times also spoke with GrainCorp to discuss the season and expectations for the coming year.

GrainCorp Area Manager Nathan Tepper provided an overview of the season: “Victoria delivered strong results across the region, with yields and quality exceeding expectations despite a dry spring. We’re still receiving grain in the Wimmera and at some of our other southern sites due to variable weather over the festive season, including total fire bans that resulted in stoppages on farms and at our sites. Over 2.4 million tonnes have been received into the GrainCorp network in Victoria.”

Regarding Western Victoria, Mr. Tepper noted, “While wet weather in December slowed harvest progress, crops remained resilient, with minimal impact on grain quality. We’ve seen good quality crops coming through the gates, with many growers reporting higher- than-expected yields. The Wimmera had a strong season, taking in close to 600,000 tonnes of grain, with some late crops still trickling through. Our Murtoa site has taken in over 160,000 tonnes, closely followed by our Nhill site, which has received over 159,000 tonnes.

“Our teams across the region worked closely with growers, ensuring efficient turnaround times through regular communication. Murtoa, Nhill, and Natimuk were among the standout performers this year. The Wimmera has consistently delivered strong harvests over the past decade. While this year wasn’t record- breaking, it was still a strong, above-average season. Growers are now hoping for summer rain to replenish subsoil moisture ahead of the 2025/26 growing season.”

GrainCorp’s operational and maintenance teams are also working with their project teams and growers to incorporate feedback received throughout the harvest to improve future site operations.

As another harvest season concludes, the region looks ahead to the challenges and opportunities of the upcoming 2025/26 season.  

This article appeared in the  Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 22 January 2025.