MORE Victorian Western District grazing country has been converted to grain cropping during the past year.
GrainCorp southern division manager Jack Tansley said the company had picked up a number of new customers who had delivered grain for the first time, mostly in the Camperdown and Mortlake districts.
Mr Tansley said deliveries to Western District grain storages had indicated sheep, cattle and some dairy country had been switched to grain production this season.
"That's adding to the volume (of grain being delivered to storages)," he said.
The Western District harvest is only half complete, with periodic showers and heavy dew delaying harvesters for much of the past week.
Harvesting is continuing in southern Victoria, through to some parts of the Wimmera and Ouyen in the Mallee.
Mr Tansley said central Victoria and the northeast of the state had completed its harvest, with grain volumes lower than in the past.
He said Murtoa was still receiving wheat and barley in the Wimmera, while GrainCorp's Naracoorte receival site in South Australia was having a reasonable season, although yields were lower than expected.
A relatively good season in the Western District had prompted GrainCorp to build new bunkers at Hamilton, Westmere and Berribank during harvest.
Mr Tansley said yields were lower than last year but new growers had added to the volume.
He said the canola harvest was nearing its end, while the barley deliveries were continuing and the wheat harvest not long started.
Early delivery of wheat crops had indicated lower protein levels. Many barley crops made the malting grade.
Inverleigh grower Ross Peel said he was quite pleased his family's barley crops had yielded four tonnes/ha and the canola crops averaged 1.8 tonnes/ha in a dry season.
"We have been pleasantly surprised with the quality and quantity," Mr Peel said.
