Hundreds of harvest jobs have opened as GrainCorp embarked on its quest for another large casual harvest workforce to help manage a third consecutive bumper winter crop across the Riverina.
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Up to 850 positions on weighbridges, sample stands, hoppers and in laboratories will help manage operations at GrainCorp's 160-plus receival sites across southern NSW.
Sixty of those roles are located in Griffith and Barellan.
GrainCorp operations assistant Georgie Considine decided to work the harvest after completing her university studies. Originally from Sydney, Ms Considine studied at Monash University and when she couldn't find a job in her field, she decided to make the country change.
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"Growing up, I was always a bit involved with agriculture," she said.
"One day in mid-2020 I was watching the television and there was a big callout for harvest casuals and how they were struggling to fill the workforce due to the big bumper crop.
"So, I submitted an application with GrainCorp and I was assigned a place at Kikoira."
Ms Considine worked most of that harvest on the weighbridge there and found she really liked it. "Don't get me wrong, it was a little daunting, but it was definitely worth it," she said.
"Working out there I met so many different people.
"I lived in Tullibigeal, so meeting the people there, and interacting with both growers at the GrainCorp site and where I lived was great."
One particularly poignant memory for her was meeting a local woman who brought in a load of barley and had it marked a grade higher than she expected.
"One of the first loads to come into the site was brought by a local grower," Ms Considine said. "She was so excited when her barley went malt and she just had a big smile on her face."
From working there, Ms Considine decided to pursue a career with GrainCorp and is now based in Wagga.
As applications open for the coming harvest, she encourages others to also take the opportunity.
"It was a great experience and I'd encourage people to put in an application and give it a go," she said.
Among positions available across the region are 20 office-based and grower services jobs at Wagga, 180 at Temora and the surrounding area, 180 at West Wyalong and 80 across Junee and Coolamon.
There are also a further 80 positions going across Lockhart and Boree Creek, 50 at Hillston, 50 at Griffith/Barellan, and another 180 across Forbes and Parkes.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences' (ABARES) recent crop report forecasts 50.9 million tonnes of grain produced for the 2022-23 season, the fourth highest on record.
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