Tyson Paech is first to Monarto South silos as grain harvest begins

Headers are being revved up around the Murraylands as the 2023 grain harvest gets underway.

Tyson Paech of Inglebrae Holdings, at Callington, became the first grower to deliver to the Monarto South silos for the season last Wednesday, October 18.

He was usually one of the first in the area to start harvesting, he said, but this was his earliest start ever.

“It’s nice to make a start and know we’ll be finished before Christmas this year, but of course a later start due to more rain would have been very welcome,” he said.

Despite a dry spring, he expected moderate tonnage and quality out of his family’s property this year.

“The sub-soil moisture from last year got us through and we’ve achieved average crops, but with a bit more rain, we could have been looking at another record year,” he said.

“Surprisingly, our legumes are looking like our standout crop, which we weren’t expecting because they don’t usually enjoy dry conditions, though the rain in July and August helped us a lot.”

The Tailem Bend silos also took their first deliveries last week.

Andrew Cannon, eastern region operations manager with grain handling company Viterra, said most growers in the Murraylands and Mallee anticipated an average to above average season.

Primary Industries and Regions SA’s last crop and pasture report, published last month, suggested the same thing.

It predicted a total grain harvest across the state of about 9 million tonnes.

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