WEST Wimmera farmers have declared the 2012-13 harvest season the district's best ever.
Minimay farmer Ron Hawkins said a combination of good weather, improved agricultural technology and strong prices had made it an unbeatable harvest.
He said his bean, barley, wheat, oat, canola and hay crops all produced strong yields.
"Over the whole district it would probably be the best ever because the weather and the crop quality has been perfect," he said.
"It is the most satisfying result I could have had in my lifetime.
"It is the best hay we have ever seen with a metabolic energy rate of 10 or 11, compared with the normal rates of between 8.5 and 10.
"Although the crops are great they would have been outstanding if we had received one more rain late in the season.
"Prices have come off a bit from where they were at the peak during the winter or spring but everyone is very happy."
Mr Hawkins said Wimmera storages were offering about $450 a tonne for beans, about $530 a tonne for canola, $265 a tonne for wheat and $220 a tonne for milling oats.
He said global positioning systems, fertilisers and other technology helped farmers cope with weather conditions and maximise their yields.
"This year we only had about two inches more rain than during the 1982 drought but in those days we would work the moisture out of the country," he said.
"Technology now allows us to just about pinpoint to the day when to sow the land and every inch of the paddock is monitored so we know about the yields."
Bringalbert farmer Peter Scullion said a strong harvest could not have come at a better time.
"Last season our yields weren't very good and prices were terrible and the year before we had 12 inches of rain so we lost crop worth about $1 million," he said.
"All the farmers around here needed it because profit margins have become smaller and our costs have become bigger."
Charlie Koch of 'Tallageira', between Minimay and Frances, described the harvest as being 'as good as it ever gets'.
"We had great prices and good yields and that only happens maybe once in 10 or once in every 15 years," he said.
"It would be nice if we could have another one like this next season and prices stayed strong.
"A big harvest like this showed us that the infrastructure of bulk handlers is struggling to handle the capacity of modern-day farming equipment.
"Bulk handlers have not matched farmers' investment in infrastructure and machinery so they cannot take on the amount of grain coming in.
"We find ourselves and other farmers are diverting to on-farm storage to get it all off."