Harvest, hay and yields
The latest ‘Wheatcast’ forecast, run on the 1st of November, has narrowed the range and decreased the expected wheat yield. It will be interesting to see how Wheatcast numbers line up with eventual production, but the final numbers look to be well below official forecasts. The two weeks leading up to the 1st of November […]
Retail red meat retreating
The latest quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures were released last week, and apart from denying us all an interest rate cut, they revealed that red meat prices reached new record highs at retail level. As part of its quarterly CPI release, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) calculates changes in the price of various […]
Harvest twenty percent done
Harvest has kicked off in earnest in NSW and is winding down in Queensland. Victoria and SA have made a start, and we are still waiting on the first harvest progress report out of WA, but northern areas are likely getting into it when the weather allows. The Queensland harvest is usually short and sharp, […]
Taking a punt on merino lambs?
The big spring store sales are progressing through the Riverina, and it coincides with rapid spring growth in high rainfall zones further south and east. While this week’s rain might make finding a winner of the Melbourne Cup more difficult, it might make finding a winner in a Merino lamb trade a bit easier. It’s […]
A cattle slaughter peak is coming?
With October coming to an end, it’s usually a time of increasing cattle supply and slaughter rates. Historically, this ties in with weaker prices, but we’ve already seen that, so here we’ll look at prospects for slaughter and price as we move towards summer. Cattle slaughter has been relatively strong this year. While week-to-week cattle […]
Looking for a pulse
Despite the rise of canola as a break crop, pulses remain a very important part of the crop rotation for broadacre croppers. In fact, the latest forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) have pulse plantings outstripping last year’s record to post a new high. Apart from the agronomic […]
Lamb supply and demand readjustment
The sharp decline in lamb and sheep prices last week came as a bit of a surprise after a long period of peak prices. When prices move in such a fashion it is due to supply overwhelming demand, here we look at whether this is a short-term change, or a sign of things to come. […]
Here comes the harvest
Harvest is about to ramp up, and with harvest comes harvest pressure. There has been little to get excited about in international markets for grain and canola producers, here we take a look at the local level and whether we will indeed see harvest put further pressure on prices. The government shutdown in the US […]
Hay drift slowing
We’ve been following the hay market for a couple of months now, since prices peaked at the end of winter. The slide in hay prices has continued into October, but it has slowed, and now there are reports of crops being cut for hay as the dry October bites. The continued slide in hay prices […]
What could you be buying instead? Cattle?
You can’t watch free-to-air television these days without seeing an advertisement for an online gambling company. These ads are always accompanied by a warning on the dangers of gambling. Trading cattle should probably come with such a warning, as we’ve seen some value stripped out of the market recently, but this might just be an […]
East Coast declining potential
The latest Wheatcast forecast was released last week, and while it’s a good read for statistics nerds, it’s not great news for wheat supply. Further dry conditions have weakened and narrowed the Wheatcast yield forecasts. New South Wales wheat yield forecasts are still at the very top of the historical range despite having weakened, and […]
Holding lambs at record price
Lamb producers who missed out on the extreme prices of the winter are now able to cash in on store lamb values, which have never been this strong, whether it be at this time of year or ever. Do we take the money, and is there value in growing out lambs this year? It took […]