Rising operating costs and insurance premiums top challenges for South Australian grain producers

Operating costs, such as inputs and rising insurance premiums, were highlighted as the biggest challenges in running a grain business by South Australian growers participating in Grain Producers SA’s (GPSA) 2024 annual survey.

The results of GPSA’s annual survey of 353 grain producers from across the state lay bare the severity of the season just gone, with 95% of respondents reporting their 2024 harvest was lower than the previous year, and more than one in three growers saying they need financial assistance to navigate the ongoing drought.

GPSA Chief Executive Officer Brad Perry said the survey showed that 2024 was one of the most challenging seasons in living memory on several fronts.

“Between poor rainfall, damaging frosts and rising operating costs, the strain on grain producers in 2024 was immense and has continued into 2025,” Mr Perry said.

Frost compounded the damage for many, with 57% of respondents reporting frost impacts, some describing it as one of the worst frost events in decades. At the same time, 85% of growers said their farm insurance premiums had increased significantly, further stretching farm budgets already under significant pressure.

“Seven percent of survey respondents told us they didn’t harvest a crop at all in 2024, and 68 per cent said their yields were down by 25 per cent or more with drought and frost impacting hard,” Mr Perry said.

Despite the challenges facing grain producers, after the 2024 season, 63 per cent said they were still positive in some way about the future of the industry, dropping from 82 per cent in 2022 and 76 per cent in 2023. Almost 80 per cent of growers in the 2024 survey said they were still running profitable or sustainable businesses.

“Growers are doing everything they can to manage the conditions in front of them, but our survey showed the breadth of the challenges they faced after one year of a statewide drought,” Mr Perry said.

Key findings from the survey include:

• 95% of growers said their 2024 harvest was down compared to 2023
• 33% said yields were up to 75% lower
• 7% reported they didn’t harvest at all
• 56% identified crop losses as the most significant challenge during the drought
• 22% of grain farms in SA are run by sole operators
• 44% of grain planted by SA growers responding to the survey in 2024 was wheat, followed by barley (20%) and lentils (16%)
• 44% surveyed indicated they were going through succession
• 79% were running a profitable grain business in 2024
• 42% of growers have used the ISCC system for exporting grain to Europe
• 84% indicate spray drift is an important consideration
• 67% said snails were the most common pest they dealt with in 2024
• 48% reported the 3G network switch-off had impacted on-farm connectivity.

Grain producers also made clear what they want the focus to be on going forward:

• 62% identified operating costs (eg inputs) as the top policy priority
• 54% want action on roads and reducing red tape
• 36% are looking for greater promotion of agriculture in metropolitan areas
• 34% believe chemical access should be a priority

Nearly 70% want the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to prioritise research into new pest and weed control strategies.

The 2024 GPSA Annual Grain Producer Survey was conducted between November 2024 and February 2025.