Viterra received its first load for the 2021/22 harvest earlier this month kick-starting harvest operations for the Viterra network.
A load of peas was delivered into Viterra's Port Neill site on Wednesday 6 October by Jeremy Calliss who farms at Arno Bay with his family.
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 from the Viterra network to international markets, Viterra says it is well-positioned to manage the harvest with low carry overstock.
“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.