October 11, 2010

Rapeseed load kick-starts Australia's 2010 harvest

The 2010 grain harvest has officially begun, with the first load of rapeseed crop being delivered to Western Australia's Geraldton port terminal.

Warm, dry conditions have pushed the harvest forward by about three weeks ahead of its traditional starting date, and reduced the amount of grain expected to flow into the state's receival points by almost half.

Duncan Gray, zone manager for bulk handler CBH Group, says the quality of the rapeseed delivered on Friday (Oct 8) was good.

"Had some high quality oil, admixture was also low, but obviously it's only one load. We'll get a lot more samples this week, probably get a few loads as well."

Major harvest operations should get underway across the northern wheatbelt late this week.