According to CBH, a weaker Australian dollar this week saw feed barley hit $200 per tonne free in store which attracted a lot of selling interest.

CBH general manager marketing and trading Jason Craig said wheat prices ended the week relatively similar to where they started. 

“However, we’re seeing increased interest for Australian hard wheat with the premium for these hard grades widening to approximately $16 per tonne above APW1,” he said.

Rain in parts of the state slowed harvest in some areas, but a good forecast for the upcoming week should result in significant progress.

The Geraldton zone is currently sitting at around 45 per cent of its estimated harvest with 1.4 million tonnes received. This is made up of about 850,000 tonnes of wheat, 146,000 tonnes of lupins, 112,000 tonnes of barley and 284,000 tonnes of canola. 

Zone manager Duncan Gray said grain was moving well throughout the zone, with rail operations ramped up to seven days a week.

In Kwinana, 1.5 million tonnes has been delivered, with the majority being barley and canola.

While there are reports of exceptional canola yields, there have been some mixed results for barley, which according to zone manager Gavin Bignell was an indication of the frost impact.

“There are areas with exceptional barley yields. However, early indications are that the frost has been more widely spread and caused more damage than initially expected,” Bignell said.

“Frost damage has resulted in the need to introduce Feed 3 segregations at selected sites as light weight barley is a significant issue in certain areas. To date 3,000 tonnes of Feed 3 has been delivered.”

Frost damage also delayed the start in Albany, with 180,000 tonnes delivered so far – around 220,000 tonnes less than the same time last year.

Zone manager Greg Thornton said there had been more Canola 2 already received this year than past years. 

“This is mainly due to frost damage from growers in the north of the zone - quality has improved as growers further south start harvest.” 

And harvest in Esperance is well and truly underway with 20% of the total estimates received.