Grain Producers Demand Action on Eyre Peninsula Weather “Black Hole”

Grain Producers SA is calling on the Federal Government to urgently fund a long-promised Doppler radar for the Eyre Peninsula, after the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed it spent nearly $100 million upgrading its website.

The Bureau had previously indicated the web overhaul would cost about $4 million, but the final spend reached $96.5 million, while grain producers in one of South Australia’s most valuable cropping regions continue to operate without accurate local radar coverage.

GPSA Chief Executive Brad Perry said the disparity in spending was difficult to justify.

“South Australian farmers have continually been told there’s no money for a Doppler radar on the Eyre Peninsula,” he said, noting that growers rely on distant Adelaide and Ceduna radars “hundreds of kilometres away.”

He said this left producers without clear information about storms, hail and rainfall that directly affect cropping decisions and insurance.

Mr Perry stressed that there are many practical consequences for these farmers working daily in this “radar black hole”.

“Farmers are spreading fertiliser, spraying, harvesting and planning logistics based on incomplete information,” he said. “Every time the forecast changes, it costs them—and now taxpayers have also had to fund a website upgrade that cost almost five times what it would have to build a Doppler radar.”

He added that both the State and Federal Governments must treat the radar as a priority.

“We’re not asking for anything new or experimental,” Mr Perry said. “It’s time to start investing in what grain producers and regional communities really need: accurate, localised weather data.”

GPSA maintains that a Doppler radar would significantly improve safety and forecasting accuracy for a region contributing billions of dollars annually to the state’s economy.