Australia
February 2, 2026
Starting 1 February 2026, growers have a new streamlined harvest declaration process which removes the need to include sales data up front to simplify reporting.
An initiative of Australian Crop Breeders (ACB), the peak body representing public and private field crop breeding nationally, the improvements are in response to grower and industry feedback indicating that parts of the current system are too complex or onerous.
CEO Dr Narelle Moore says it is a positive change for growers, reducing the time and effort required to finalise their harvest declaration for the current year.
“We’ve removed the need for sales data to be included up-front when declaring, meaning growers can complete their part of the paperwork sooner after harvest, while that information is fresh in their minds, before they move onto the next season.
“Then, once the grower has finished selling, it’s easy to confirm that they are ready to reconcile.
“Our aim is to refine our processes for growers, eliminating unnecessary steps so that it is as streamlined as possible.”
Six of Australia’s largest cereal crop breeders are participating in the simplified NGR harvest declaration process, representing 98% of national winter crop production. These are Australian Grain Technologies, Barenbrug, InterGrain, LongReach Plant Breeders, RAGT and Seednet.
Growers now only need to provide the following key tonnage data for each variety: – tonnes unsold from last season
– tonnes harvested this season
– tonnes retained for seed
There is no need to report sales data or gain volumes retained for on-farm stockfeed. It means the harvest declaration can be completed almost immediately following harvest.
“Our breeding company members looked at what information is really needed to reconcile EPR payments, distilling it down to the absolute essentials,” Dr Moore said.
“It is still important for growers to accurately record key tonnage data by variety, so that breeding company Royalty Managers can reconcile accurately.
“We’ve engaged with growers and representative bodies in making these changes, to gather feedback on the process and ensure it works.
“We worked closely with NGR to make it happen, including enhancements to the myNGR online portal experience for growers.
“ACB will continue to pursue broader and more impactful improvements to strengthen the EPR system, though these measures will unfold over a longer timeframe.
“It’s important that we take the steps we can now to make the EPR experience more straightforward for growers.”
Support for growers, as they complete the new harvest declaration process, can be found at varietycentral.com.au/harvest-declaration. This includes ‘how to’ guides, a fact sheet and detailed FAQs.
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