Harvesting grain through February is taking the notion of a late harvest to a new level, but this first-time WA farmer is happy to suck it up for his "unbelievable" crops.
Grant Bernhardt started farming in Frankland River, north west of Albany, in December 2021.
He is the farming manager at Westfield Station, and has set a high bar for future farming years, believing he will break all the property's previous harvest records.
"Last year, it was a record [for the property] … we'll break those records easily," he said.
"Across the board, the wheat, canola and barley would be a tonne to the hectare heavier this year than last year."
Mr Bernhardt has a 25-year-long farming background in South Australia, originally hailing from the Clare Valley.
Very late harvest
Seasonal conditions have caused most of WA's grain harvest delays, but Mr Bernhardt also sowed his crop late.
"Probably a lot of other farmers will be finished before well before us … a lot of people did sow earlier than us in the area," he said.
"[We're] in a unique situation … we have sown that little bit later, and now we're in that in that zone … where crops are bang on, the timing's perfect."
Frankland River is no stranger to a later cropping season, but Mr Bernhardt will still be on the header through February, when typically everything is wrapped up by mid-January.
"It's just a phenomenon this year, really, just the way the weather's been so mild, and just a gentle finish, which is just incredible … it's something I have not experienced," he said.
"It's quite exciting really to be able to produce a crop and have a finish with yields like we have … unbelievable."
Long way to go
A total of 7,500 hectares of land makes up Westfield Station, and about 3,000ha of that is used for cropping.
So far, Mr Bernhardt is only a third of the way through his canola program, which is 1,100ha, with barley and wheat still to go.
Even though the work is far from over, he has one big smile on his face.
"We've got a fair way to go, keeping my eye on the sky," he said.
"If there's a perfect finish, this is as close as you get."
