December 22, 2009

A harvest of winter grains in Western Australia state--which usually accounts for 40% of national wheat output--has slowed as it nears the finish.

Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd (CBH) has received almost 10 million tonnes of grain into its system, which comprises nearly 200 upcountry storage sites and four coastal export terminals, about 85% of the estimated total intake of 11.8 million tonnes for this crop year ending March 31, and up from 8.8 million tonnes a week ago.

Typically, about 70% of the grains received are wheat, most of which are exported, making the state a major supplier of these cereals to the global trade.

In a first this harvest, CBH is testing grain image analysis technology developed by CBH and global instrument maker FOSS. This uses digital imaging, multi-spectral analysis to identify, characterize and quantify diseases, damage and impurities in grain and aims to improve consistency, accuracy and speed of sampling.