Australia: ABB Grain Ltd announced that South Australia’s 2004/05 harvest began today, October 19 2004, with the first load of barley delivered to ABB Grain Ltd’s Port Pirie receival centre in the State’s Mid North. The company said: “The honour of delivering the first load in South Australia went to Mr Ian Mudge of Telowie, who delivered just over 27 tonnes of feed barley to the silo this morning. Mr Mudge is no stranger to being the ‘first cab off the rank’ at harvest time – the previous two years also saw him delivering the first of the state’s tonnes for the season, in 2002 of feed barley and 2003 of lupins.”

With crops of wheat and lupins also to be harvested for the 2004/05 season, Mr Mudge said he usually started with barley but should be into the other commodities within the next fortnight, with wheat not that far away from being ready. Mr Mudge said his crops were looking as though yields would be average to above average. He said despite last Tuesday’s scorching weather, he had not experienced much crop damage, the hot day “just quickening it up a bit.”

ABB Grain Corporate Relations manager Mr Ian Desborough said the company was expecting South Australian grain receivals to be in line with the five year average of 6.5 million tonnes or just below that level.

“We had thought earlier that we might go just above, but last week’s hot weather has taken a little of the gloss off the estimate, as crops in early maturing areas such as the upper North and Eyre Peninsula suffered in the heat.”

“However it is still very early days yet and if the cool weather continues or we get another inch to half an inch of rain the yields could still go up in the later maturing areas south of Adelaide,” he said.

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