November 14, 2012

South Australia sees grain harvest at 6.2 million tonnes

Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) has forecast a 6.2 million tonnes of grain harvest this season, in line with its 10-year average of 6.3 million tonnes of grain.

PIRSA manager of grains industry development, Dave Lewis says the overall production is better than expected after a dry finish.

"I think the performance of this crop is testament to what grain growers have adopted in the way of technology, things like minimum tillage and direct drilling," he said.

"Those sort of strategies enable timely seeding at the start of the season, better moisture conservation in the soil and all these factors add up to better yield performance than crops of a decade or so ago."