Small communities thrive during harvest

Great Southern shires have benefited from a seasonal population surge on the back of CBH employing 155 casual staff in the region for the 2014-15 harvest.

Cranbrook Shire economic and community development manager Cassandra Hughes said lots of things had happened for Cranbrook with the growth of CBH.

A joint venture arrangement at the Cranbrook Caravan Park enables the Shire to provide land while CBH provides accommodation in the form of single ensuite rooms for employees during the peak season.

During the off-season Ms Hughes said the rooms could be rented out, which allowed small groups and non-contractors to use the facilities.

“CBH growth is critical to small communities, and, for us, being the highest receival bin, we are a very big site,” she said.

Ms Hughes said the benefits of CBH employment stretched further than the sites themselves, as many casual employees were not residents.

She said the company brought a large amount of people into Cranbrook over the harvest season.

CBH country operations and quality advisor Rebecca Shipp said the number of casual employees hired each year was determined by seasonal requirements.

Ms Shipp said across the 2014-15 season, the Albany zone received more than one million tonnes of grain from WA growers in a timeframe of about 60 to 70 days.

“Casual employees assist us with this seasonal workload and make sure we’re efficiently storing and handling the grain in a timely manner,” she said.

Katanning local Braid Bouffler has returned as a Cranbrook CBH casual for the last six years.

“The dongas are excellent accommodation — single room, ensuite, the kitchen facilities have all you need. You can’t get much better than that,” he said.

“During harvest it definitely helps the town out. More people to spend money in town either at the shop, cafe or even the pub,” he said.

Ms Hughes said participation in the community was fantastic because the town became vibrant with more people at events.

“We find CBH great to work with. They are a great employer in our region, and all good employers in our region are important,” she said.

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