1MG FlippingBooks
Bulk grain import permit granted for the first time in over a decade
Vivien Lin
For the first time since 2007, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) has issued a permit for an Australian importer to import bulk wheat.
The Manildra Group’s Shoalhaven Starches facility, the largest wheat starch plant of its kind in the world, has been granted a permit to import bulk grain from Canada in order to meet a high-protein wheat supply shortfall. Although the Manildra Group has sourced as much high-protein wheat on the Australian market as is available so far in 2018-19, the worst drought in 116 years has led to the short supply of high protein wheat crucial to its processing facilities.
This marks the first time in the company’s 67-year history that exceptional drought circumstances have forced it to import wheat.
According to research from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), prolonged drought conditions across eastern Australia have led to extremely low soil moisture levels during 2018-19 and low domestic grain stocks. It has forecasted winter wheat production will decrease by 10 per cent in 2018-19, noting that timely rainfall is critical to ongoing crop development.
The high-protein wheat imported by the Manildra Group will be transformed into value-added products primarily for the export market and allow the Shoalhaven Starches Plant to continue operating.
Despite concerns that the imported grain would pose a biosecurity risk to Australian wheat crops, the permit application was assessed by DAWR to ensure Australia’s strict biosecurity protocols are met. The import conditions require that grain be sourced from areas assessed as posing a low plant and animal biosecurity risk, whilst also imposing strict movement, storage and processing controls within Australia.
The Manildra Group’s shipment of wheat is expected to arrive in Australia in six to eight weeks.
You can keep up to date with government forecasts for the wheat industry here.
NEWS
High-precision GNSS has typically been too costly and complex for all but the most critical agricultural operations, but recent RTK GNSS innovations have made centimetre accuracy scalable to all applications in Ag-Tech. 
Every Aussie farmer knows that the difference between a “good” crop and a “record-breaking” one often come down to the smallest details. At BioFlora, we’ve spent years perfecting the balance of plant nutrition, and the result is IsoGreen – our powerhouse liquid formula designed to push your yields and crop taste to their absolute peak. 
Plant, spray and harvest with confidence using reliable centimetre level positioning. Hexagon SmartNet provides fast, accurate RTK corrections across Australia to reduce overlaps, lower input costs and maximise productivity. With no base station required, simply connect, get a fix and get to work.
Built for the demand of Aussie farmers. Designed for every day performance.
They’re wriggly black grubs more commonly tossed to backyard hens than served at the dinner table, but black soldier fly larvae could soon play a key role in building a more sustainable food system, according to new research from Adelaide University.
After four years of customer research and 500,000 test kilometres, Ford says the Ranger Super Duty brings farmer-driven customisation into the factory, with more towing, payload, and durability built in. 
