While the final figure is yet to be finalised, the 16Mt barrier was broken on December 30, marking the historic milestone. 

The record-breaking harvest was powered by exceptional rainfall and growing conditions, but initial hopes for a record harvest were scuppered by frosts in August and September, which caused significant crop damage for many regions.

Approximately 7Mt of grain was delivered in 16 days in November to CBH receival sites – 22 of which broke daily receival records.

CBH Group General Manager of Operations David Capper said the record-breaking season had been a rollercoaster for many growers who were impacted by frost.

“[The frost] presented the industry [with] a real challenge in trying to understand the expected size of the crop,” Capper said.

“It’s fantastic to see yields have surpassed expectations in non-frost affected areas and the crop has come in thick and fast, delivering [WA] the largest grain harvest in history.

“We appreciate this has been a tough year for growers and are grateful for their patience. There have been sites which have filled early and the additional segregations, particularly in coarse grains, have placed extra pressure on our sites.

“A harvest of this size is a testament to the innovative and resilient grain growers of Western Australia and CBH is proud to operate their storage and handling network for their benefit.”

Canola in particular was a shining light across the harvest, while barley also performed well despite early fears it would be impacted by frost.

WA Farmers Grains president Duncan Young told ABC Rural that overall the frost was not as bad as first feared.

"I think the level of frost, while initially they thought it was pretty high, I think some farmers when they've got into paddocks have actually found that the frost hasn't affected them as greatly as they first thought," he said.