THE WA Government has announced a major expansion of grain handling at Northam following local farmers’ fears that part of this year’s expected bumper harvest may need to be dumped on the ground because of freight bottlenecks.
They said much of last year’s crop was still stuck at Northam (pictured right) and buyers were paying higher prices for grain from elsewhere.
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Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said grain handler CBH had bought a 105ha site at Northam to boost WA export capacity to three million tonnes a month over the next decade.
The State had contributed $200,000 for road and rail design, Ms MacTiernan said.
The new site is 20km east of Northam at Avon Industrial Park on the Great Eastern Highway and WA’s east-west rail link.
CBH says it is using four temporary sites there to receive grain, and was building five more to handle this year’s harvest.
These would be converted to permanent storage under a $4 billion plan to expand WA grain handling over the next decade.
The new ‘Meenar’ facility would include new rail sidings and grain loaders.