Grain Storage Holds Key to Security of Supply
Anticipating a prosperous harvest season for the eastern Australian wheat industry on reprieve from years of drought, Manildra Group is continuing to strategically invest in grain storage facilities in the heart of the New South Wales wheatbelt.
Leading the project, our Head Grain Buyer Peter Sloan and Milling Manager John Brunner are looking forward to the opportunities that four storages sites will provide for Manildra Group’s flour milling operations and thousands of Australian wheat farming families.
“These well-designed storage systems are a long-term investment in one of the world’s best wheat protein regions in the New South Wales wheatbelt and will safeguard supply for our entire business,” Mr Brunner told The Cultivator from our flagship Manildra Flour Mill, the largest flour mill in Australia.
“This significant investment in grain storage assets is the backbone for bringing our finest Australian-grown wheat from the paddocks to storage and then to our flour mills, guaranteeing customers absolute confidence in our supply chain.
“It will also allow us to create more flexible and curated storage services to the growers we work with daily.”
As a major flour miller producing premium food and industrial products since 1952, the 100 per cent Australian family-owned Manildra Group has grown to become the largest user of Australia’s high-quality wheat, in the production of food and industrial products from our flour mills in Gunnedah, Narrandera, Nowra and Manildra.
Operating directly out of regional areas, “our industry knowledge and investment in regional Australia means Manildra Group is equally invested in the prosperity of Australian farming,” said Mr Sloan, who is this year in his 14th harvest season with Manildra Group, and heading our Gunnedah-based grain buying team.
“This additional storage, on top of our current capacity at our four state-of-the-art flour mills, enables us to extend our storage up-country.
“It further cements our footprint in regional New South Wales and commitment to a sustainable grains industry, ensuring we can continue to deliver high-quality premium wheat from our storage sites to flour mills daily,” he said.
Having witnessed significant industry change in the decades since Mr Sloan’s father operated a small grain trading business. The market has continued to evolve with more grain being transacted direct to the end consumer.
“Our sophisticated online transaction systems facilitate easy, secure and rapid commercial transactions of grain and our track record of reliability, service and flexibility make Manildra Group the trusted and preferred choice for Australian wheat growers,” Mr Sloan told The Cultivator.
“After almost 70 years in wheat purchasing in New South Wales, Manildra Group is the largest user of wheat in Australia, with our demand accounting for a high percentage of the east coast milling market and our presence underpinning a strong competitive market for local grain.
“It is our strong relationships – some lasting generations – with growers and traders that
are the foundation on which our buying is based.”
With the purchase of the new grain storage sites, Manildra Group will fully own and operate four major grain storages in New South Wales from Stockinbingal in the south west slopes to Manildra in the central west, and north to Moree and Bellata in the state’s central north.
“The new grain sites will be managed by a team of top local blokes – experts in grain-handling and the industry, with decades of experience – who will be our go-to people on the ground, greeting and liaising with local growers on a day-to-day basis,” said Mr Sloan.
The strategic location of these sites throughout regional New South Wales also facilitates round- the-clock access to rail-sized parcels of wheat 365 days a year.
“More bulk wheat on rail means less of impact on regional towns from fewer truck movements for our flour mills,” said Mr Sloan.
Mr Sloan noted that while eastern wheat-producing areas are, “in pretty good shape, the whole industry is really hoping we have a kind spring to give New South Wales and Queensland growers in particular some much-needed reprieve from the catastrophic drought conditions so persistent over recent years.”
“There are so many good growers who have had a very tough time and are in desperate need of a run of decent seasons,” he said.
“We are always looking to make the grain buying process as streamlined as possible and, when working with growers to accommodate their delivery and payment options and all other logistical requirements, we are happy to use our resources to best suit the conditions of the transaction.”
Grain storage site managers appointed at each Manildra Group location are responsible for:
- providing price and quality information to growers;
- friendly, fast turn-around times for wheat receivals;
- managing inbound and outbound requirements; and
- looking after the quality of the grain.
Contact our local wheat grain specialists on 1300 MANILDRA.
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