Farm-level adaptations to harvest logistics constraints in export-oriented grain systems

Grain Producers in export-oriented grain systems face mounting pressure to coordinate harvest logistics under growing climatic, institutional, and infrastructure constraints. These stresses are especially acute in regions with decentralised production, long transport routes, and limited receival and labour capacity. In such settings, logistics adaptability is not just an operational concern but a critical factor shaping farmers' access to markets and overall system performance. This study investigates how Western Australian (WA) grain farmers adapt their storage, freight, and delivery strategies in response to misalignments between on-farm decision-making and centralised grain logistics infrastructure. Using an abductive, mixed-methods approach—including 48 surveys, 19 interviews, and media and policy document analysis—we explored how farm-level decisions interact with institutional asymmetries and inflexible infrastructure. The design is theoretically informed by Actor–Network Theory to trace translations, enrolment and obligatory passage points among heterogeneous human/non-human actors, and by the Actors–Resources–Activities framework to map actor bonds, resource ties and activity links across inland logistics. The findings reveal that growers rely on on-farm storage, investment in mobile freight capacity, and tactical scheduling to manage seasonal bottlenecks and limited delivery access. These strategies are shaped by market signals, spatial disparities in receival infrastructure and transport options and behavioural heuristics that help farmers navigate institutional constraints. While such adaptations provide short-term resilience, they also create inefficiencies and reinforce systemic inequities in harvest throughput, export timing, and access to price premiums. This study contributes to ongoing debates on agricultural systems resilience by linking farm-level behavioural adaptation with infrastructure governance and logistics system design. It highlights the need for modelling frameworks—such as agent-based or participatory approaches—that reflect decentralised, spatially differentiated decision-making. Implications are drawn for transport planning, cooperative infrastructure policy, and the development of future decision-support systems tailored to export-reliant agricultural regions. • Record harvests test resilience of logistics amid unprecedented conditions • Farmers use on-farm storage and mobile freight to ease bottlenecks • Mixed-methods reveal heuristics in constrained farm environments • Spatial disparities drive uneven logistics and adaptation strategies