New Willaura grain site extends hours for farmers facing weather troubles

Nic Boyd, Norph Bulk Storage, Willaura, said they decided to start receiving both canola grades, CAN and CANG, for the first time this year to offer better access to local growers.

He said they had been operating as a grain storage facility for two years.

"I used to have a cattle feedlot and was born on the farm," he said.

"I purchased the site two years ago and further developed it."

Site manager Peter Hamilton said the property was originally a hay storage facility, but Mr Boyd decided to convert it into a grain storage facility.

"He saw the need for a grain storage facility out that way to give the farmers more options and healthy competition for the growers," he said.

Mr Boyd said so far, they had received more than 40,000 tonnes of grain during a challenging season for the Ararat region.

He said he had about a dozen staff join the team since the business's inception, and had received more than 2500 tonnes of grain in one day during the 2023-24 harvest season.

He said a nearby site had closed on Saturday, and growers were still harvesting after sporadic wet weather.

"It's been challenging with weather, that's why we've been as accommodating as we can and as flexible as we can with growers," he said.

"There haven't been many opportunities for harvest so we're trying to have those hours open for farmers to have optimal harvests."

Mr Boyd said it felt great to have such a supportive company like ADM as a volume buyer in its first season at the Norph site securing canola and wheat.

"Growers have several other reputable selling options with both export and domestic buyers to cash, contract or warehouse," he said.

He said the quality hadn't been as good as the previous harvest season, but was still making stockfeed wheat grade.

"Surprisingly the test weight has still been quite good, and later on the grain is still making the grades," he said.