Wimmera grain site breaks all-time yield records after productive harvest

Farmers from Nhill and surrounds are pleasantly surprised after helping break local records and contribute to an "exceptionally strong" 2023-24 harvest.

GrainCorp in Victoria has received more than 4.2 million tonnes of grain for the 2023-24 harvest so far.

Nhill was dubbed one of the best-performing sites of the season, after it has taken in 254,000 tonnes, breaking its previous record between the 2022-23 season of 229,500 tonnes.

GrainCorp Head of National Operations Jason Shanley said harvest activity was still happening in Nhill, Murtoa and other Wimmera regions, as well as Berrybank and Westmere.

"[It] is another exceptionally strong year for the network," he said.

"Several sites have also had their best ever season, with records falling at Elmore, Murchison East, Mitiamo, Quambatook, Rainbow, Speed, Warracknabeal and Nhill.

"Our Southern Mallee and Wimmera cluster of sites have also received the most grain ever this season."

Nhill GrainGrowers Group chair and Yanac South farmer Brett Wheaton was one of the contributing farmers, and finished his harvest after pulling all-nighters with his crew to wrap up before Christmas.

"We had contractors in to help cart, we had two of our own trucks and a contractor in," he said.

"We were keeping up, and then Nhill broke its daily record intake three times this harvest."

Mr Wheaton said the Nhill site had taken in about 18,800 tonnes of grain within 24 hours.

"We had extended the hours, we went until about 12.30am," he said.

"So 7am until 11pm is the average day for GrainCorp in Nhill, but we called up and asked to extend those hours because there was all of this rain coming.

"They couldn't include the final half an hour, so it ended up [unofficially] being 19,200."

Mr Wheaton said they had grown a hammer wheat variety, which performed exceptionally well.

"I haven't done all my averages yet, but we would've averaged over five-tonne wheat harvest across three grades of grain," he said.

"We haven't had one downgraded grain for the whole year, even with the four major rain events we had."

GrainCorp Nhill site manager Ellie Murden said one of the main contributors was favourable weather throughout the growing season.

"The rain kept the subsoil moisture up in most of the paddocks in the Wimmera, which was very pleasing for growers," she said.