Improving roads needs to be a key focus of any study into western Victoria's grain supply chain, say local growers.
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The state government has announced a $250,000 Western Victoria Grain Industry Supply Chain Study, to identify changes to production and volume of product likely to be harvested in the next 25 years.
Stephen Peel has properties at Cressy and Shelford, with most given over to crop production.
He said the study was "absolutely" required.
"We have been struggling with the roads for a little while down this way," Mr Peel said.
"There has been some private storage, like Universal Commodity Management at Werneth, but they are heavily reliant on roads - they have no rail access.
"If you put grain on the western rail line, you have options of it going east or west - it doesn't all have to go to Geelong or Portland.
"The other option is you have potential market access if you go all the way to Adelaide."
Mr Peel currently grows wheat, barley, canola, faba beans and some forage oats for sheep feed and hay.
He said he generally sent his grains and pulses to Geelong, Werneth and Winchelsea.
Putting grain in containers was also something the study should examine.
"Fletchers Grain, in Dubbo, NSW, have a massive intermodal and is one of the places to go and have a look and see how they do it," Mr Peel said.
In the last 10-15 years sheep had given way to crops.
"We have probably done the full circle from 100 per cent livestock in this district, to nearly 100 pc cropping," he said.
Chris Gibson, Foxhow, is growing wheat and canola, and said it was encouraging the government was looking at the industry and hopefully making improvements to the supply chain.
"When my father, years ago, was growing crops, it was mainly for sheep feed, now its high-end production," Mr Gibson said.
Raised beds and new varieties had boosted grain and pulse production, but there had not been the investment in infrastructure to keep up with the increase, he said.
"There has been more research and development into varieties that is helping with weed resistance and yield gain - that's really the big one, we have to be chasing.
"With the price of everything, constantly going up, we need bigger yields to make things work.
"In the next few years we are going to also see larger volumes grown, because of the modernised equipment doing a better job."
Adoption of technology, such as GPS and precision planting were pushing yield and bigger truck sizes would allow for greater efficiencies.
"There had been an increase in on-farm grain storage in the last few years, due to bottlenecks during harvest in trying to move products," he said.
"It does help to move that grain later in the year, when there is a demand for it, whether to domestic users or to the ports for exports," he said.
Rail had been used to shift grain from Berrybank in the past.
"Something needs to happen because the infrastructure is there, the rail line is there and they should be able to use it - I am not sure why they don't," he said.
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Moyne shire mayor and famer Ian Smith said he'd met with Corangamite shire recently and the grain supply chain had been discussed.
"It was definitely on the radar," Cr Smith said.
'"We concentrate on the east-west traffic a lot, but a lot of the grain and fodder is a north-south movement, that falls onto council-controlled roads, rather than regional roads," Cr Smith said.
"The main thing is to prioritise work on the roads where the bulk of the grain is coming from."
He said those roads could then be targeted, to get them up to B-Double standard.
"We are very aware funding is going to get very tight, " Cr Smith said.
"It's my gut feeling, that funding will become scarce, post pandemic spending - we will really have to be tight in the targeting our roads."
Victorian Farmers Federation southern region grains councillor Anthony Mulcahy, Pura Pura, said infrastructure had not kept up with the increase in grain production.
"We urgently need funding to improve the safety and quality of key local roads," Mr Mulcahy said.
"Increasing local road access for B-Doubles is critical for reducing red tape for grain growers and ensuring the efficient movement of grain during key production periods such as harvest.
"It's critical farmers and industry are involved in the study to ensure its long-term success"