The 2021/22 South Australian grain harvest is underway with Viterra taking its first load into its Port Neill site.
A local grower delivered the load of peas on Wednesday 6 October.
Viterra Operations Manager for the Western region Nick Pratt says it signals an exciting time ahead for the business as it works hard to meet the needs of growers.
“One of our key priorities is providing growers with a valuable and efficient service during their busiest time of year,” Nick says.
“We carry out a great deal of planning ahead of the season so that we are prepared for growers’ delivery needs, and our sites are ready to go.”
Following a strong shipping season with around 5.5 million tonnes of grain outturned from the Viterra network to international markets, Viterra is very well positioned to manage the harvest with low carry over stock.
“We continue to experience strong demand for grain from our network which is great news for growers getting ready to deliver to our sites. We have around 40 buyers in the Viterra system which gives growers greater options on who they sell their grain to,” Nick says.
“I’ve been attending events and meetings with growers and they are feeling positive about the upcoming harvest, and we expect deliveries to slowly start over the coming weeks.”
Viterra has boosted its service offering in time for the 2021/22 harvest with the introduction of port direct and digital delivery advice.
“Our grower and buyer customers can benefit from up to $11.10 per tonne reduction in receival fees with port direct which enables buyers to purchase grain directly from growers ahead of when a vessel is booked to load,” Nick says.
“It provides greater flexibility for growers who prefer to store their grain on farm and deliver their grain directly to port postharvest.”
Viterra has also released its new digital delivery advice into the Viterra app to save growers’ time and streamline their delivery process.