Esperance farmers Tash and Pete Piggott have almost finished their 2025 harvest operation despite a relatively wet growing season.
UPDATE: Harvest operations are rapidly concluding for farmers in the Esperance Port Zone, with the region marking a remarkable 2.6 million tonnes of grain delivered as of November 30, 2025. This follows a highly successful growing season, with many growers reporting exceptional yields.
The season kicked off with an impressive 55-tonne barley delivery to the CBH Group’s Chadwick site near Esperance on October 12. As of December 1, local farmer Tom Curnow has wrapped up his harvest operations, reporting a “pretty good run” despite some challenges with machinery and weather.
Curnow, who cultivated 3,600 hectares of crops this year, noted that his yield consisted of 50% GM canola, with the remainder evenly split between wheat and barley. “Everything went pretty smoothly,” he stated. “It was pretty hard on the headers this year with big crops and a lot of biomass to process.”
In a notable effort, Curnow also planted an additional 100 hectares of barley on August 19, anticipating to harvest this late crop within weeks.
Meanwhile, fellow farmers Pete and Tash Piggott, located 65 kilometers west of Esperance, reported a “relatively wet growing season.” They planted 1,625 hectares each of wheat and canola across 3,250 hectares and expect to finish harvesting by December 2. “Canola and wheat yields have both been pretty good, but wheat quality has been a bit mixed this year,” Ms. Piggott said.
The latest report from the Grain Industry Association of WA indicates that harvest in both the Esperance and Geraldton Port Zones is ahead of the rest of the state, with expectations of reaching new tonnage records of around 4.5 million tonnes each if the current pace continues.
CBH Group Chief Operations Officer Mick Daw noted that favorable weather conditions are expected to enhance the harvesting pace. “Warm weather will set growers up for a good run at harvesting,” he confirmed, emphasizing that growers have reported higher than anticipated yields.
With two record-breaking days of 600,000 tonnes already logged, the momentum of the harvest is palpable. Farmers are eager to wrap up their operations efficiently while the conditions remain favorable, ensuring a successful conclusion to a season that many have hailed as one of the best in recent memory.
The Esperance Port Zone’s harvest success is a critical development not just for local farmers but for the grain industry as a whole, showcasing resilience and adaptability in the face of fluctuating weather patterns. As the harvest wraps up, the community looks ahead to the impact this season’s yield will have on both local economies and global grain markets.
