Queensland and northern NSW have parked the headers and are done and dusted, while Central NSW is about 50 per cent done.
Southern NSW is seeing more headers in canola and barley paddocks and we should start to see some activity in wheat paddocks sooner rather than later.
In north-east Victoria and the Mallee, we are just starting to see tonnages begin to hit the sites with early indications that yield and quality are favourable.
The canola market, in general, has been on a decline over the last six to eight weeks and many growers are asking the question as to why.
With crops in NSW smaller and not yielding as high as had been hoped, there is a strong belief that the market should be trending in a more positive and upward direction.
It seems the decline in price is largely connected to export markets, with weakness in markets in Europe due to abundant supply from Ukraine.
Wheat has been the Cinderella story of harvest with strong pricing helped by the pull from northern consumers.
We are seeing some strong premiums attracting some volume into sites and growers taking advantage of locking away some tonnages, especially those with protein.
How Australian growers decide to sell their grain is going to be the biggest factor impacting grain prices over the next period.
It's a hard time for growers to continually watch a moving target, as for most, they are either sitting on a header, in trucks, chaser bin driving, fixing mechanical issues, dealing with people in the workforce or wrestling with the internet connection to keep track of where the markets are up to.
The list goes on, but the challenges that are faced with day-to-day harvest are nothing new.
One thing to remember, though, is that there are plenty of buyers who want grain, so it will pay to be vigilant to market opportunities.
For now, the headers will continue to roll, as will the mounting cost of fuel for growers to continue to run all mechanical requirements.
One thing for sure is that no matter the cost, the wheels need to keep on rolling with everyone out there in the industry hoping to be sitting down all together on Christmas Day, celebrating a successful harvest and enjoying a hearty meal with those close to them.
How nice will that be, one can only hope and wish.
Until then, happy harvesting.
