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GIWA takes standards lead

GIWA wants to determine coars grain standards in WA.

Newly elected chairman of the Grains Industry Association of WA, Sean Powell, says industry as a whole must maintain control over coarse grain delivery standards in WA.

Speaking after the organisation's annual general meeting last week, Mr Powell said it was critical for all segments in the grains industry to have input into crucial decisions that affect growers.

Mr Powell said GIWA, as the only organisation in WA to represent all sections of the supply chain, was the organisation to manage this process.

"There are a number of important stakeholders in the WA grain industry, and so it is important that we all work together to ensure the best outcomes for all parties in our value chain," he said.

"Communication between all parties is critical for the success of our industry."

Mr Powell's comments came after a communication breakdown between the organisation and Co-operative Bulk Handling, that saw delivery standards to the Oat2 segregation for this coming harvest changed by CBH.

GIWA had previously told growers that feed, hay and seed quality oats would not be accepted into the Oat2 stack. This decision was subsequently overruled by CBH, and feed, hay and seed grade oats can now be delivered this season.

At an Oats Industry forum in York last month, GIWA Oats council chairman Will Carrington-Jones said there was no longer any requirement for Australia to export feed oats to markets such as China and Japan.

"There is no export market for feed-grade oats, our export opportunities are purely for milling grade oats, nothing is sent to the fodder industry," Mr Carrington-Jones said.

"CBH must be in a position to present our oats to the international market as a quality product, there should be no blending of stacks. The problem with this decision lies in the fact that should oats become in short supply, the domestic industry has clearly informed us that they will not buy any oats from the Oat2 stack, because of the poor milling qualities of those feed and hay varieties."

Quaker Oats Australia supply chain manager Chris Maughan said as a domestic processor, he would always buy product from the Oat1 segregation, but had previously been forced to purchase from the Oat2 stack during low production times.

"If there is a drought situation, which we have had in the past, I will buy Oat2, simply because I don't have much choice, or the alternative is to bring it in from the Eastern States," he said.

"The problem with oats is you can't just blend oat varieties to achieve the desired result. Some varieties just don't mill effectively."

But CBH country quality manager Vince Moroney said CBH would continue to receive the feed, hay and seed varieties in the Oat2 Stack this harvest because growers needed more time to adjust to GIWA's changes.

"While the decision is the right one for the broader oat industry, the timing and effectiveness of the communication of this to farmers may not have allowed them time to action this," he said.

Mr Moroney claimed the impact across the WA oats industry as a result of this decision would be low.

He said the feed, hay and seed deliveries to the Oat2 stack potentially represented less than one per cent of all oat receivals in terms of total volume.

"The key message out of all of this is that growers need to be aware of the changes to the Oats Varietal Master List, which will now be implemented for the 2015 season."

Mr Powell said in his new role as chairman of the Association, he would be focusing on increasing the legitimacy of the organisation, and would also be looking to better secure the financial future of GIWA.

He said there had been a drift away in focus from the trade within the organisation.

"The real value of GIWA is to be able to bring the entirety of the industry together in one organisation to grow the value and profitability of the whole of the WA grain industry," Mr Powell said.