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Grains

Information on Western Australia's grains industry and how to manage crops including barley, canola, lupins, oats, wheat and pulses.

Yellow canola fields
  • Barley
    Barley is Western Australia’s second largest cereal crop, after wheat, accounting for around 25% of the state’s total grain production and typically delivering over $1 billion in barley grain and malt export earnings each year.
    View more about Barley
  • Canola
    Western Australia is the major canola growing state in Australia, producing over 50% of the nation’s 4 million tonnes each year. Most of WA canola is exported – generating about $1.2 billion for the state’s economy annually.
    View more about Canola
  • Lupins
    Western Australia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of lupins, delivering the state about $200.1 million in export earnings in 2021-22.
    View more about Lupins
  • Oats
    The Western Australian oat industry generates about $540 million for the state economy each year through the production of milling oats for human consumption and feed oats and about $225 million per year in oaten hay for livestock production.
    View more about Oats
  • Pulses
    Western Australian pulse production is relatively small. The major pulses grown in WA are field pea, faba bean, lentil, and chickpea.
    View more about Pulses
  • Wheat
    Wheat is the major grain crop produced in Western Australia making up 65% of annual grain production and generating $2 billion to $5 billion for the State economy each year.
    View more about Wheat

Crop Sowing Guide

The Western Australian crop sowing guide is a one stop shop for information on all the major crops grown in Western Australia, compiled by the department. This edition includes the major crops grown in WA – wheat, barley, canola, oat, lupins, and pulses. The guide aims to provide information to support growers with decisions on the best choice of variety for each of the major crops for the upcoming season.

View the current Crop Sowing Guide

WA produces on average 18 million tonnes of grains (cereals, oilseeds and pulses) each year, while grain exports generate more than $5.9 billion (5-year average) for the WA economy each year. This makes grains the largest agricultural sector in WA, and the fifth largest export industry after iron ore, oil and gas, gold and lithium. 

WA exports about 80% of its annual grain production to more than 50 countries worldwide. WA is the major canola producing state in Australia, averaging just under half of Australia’s canola production with the biggest market in the European Union for biofuels.

In the 2021/22 season it is estimated the WA grains industry exported a total of $6 billion of cereals and $3.2 billion of pulse and oilseeds. The major contributors to these exports were wheat ($3.9 billion), canola ($3 billion), barley ($1.4 billion), lupins ($200 million) and oats ($160 million).

Frost on wheat

Frost

With every second year, on average, frost events are significant enough to wipe out tens of millions of dollars of broadacre crops in Western Australia.

Visit the frost page