Grains

Sophie Baldwin. Since the 1970s, the Chalmers family have been growing rice, so they certainly know a thing or two about the importance of performance and business planning. For Michael and Felicia that acumen was rewarded with the couple recently crowned CY25 SunRice grower of the year.

Today’s release of the August Bendigo Bank Agribusiness Monthly Commodity Update finds that widespread rain in late July marked a turning point for Australia’s winter cropping season. Recent falls have further reinforced production confidence in NSW, Qld and large parts of WA and growers in Victoria and South Australia have also been given a renewed shot at achieving average yields or better...

Grain Producers Australia is calling for a rigorous investigation of the recent acceleration of Australian farmland purchases, by US-owned foreign investors with serious financial clout, emboldened by major tax breaks. 

Key grains research outcomes will be shared next Tuesday, 5 August at the Grains Research and Development Corporation's (GRDC) free Grains Research Updates event. Events are being held at multiple locations across Queensland and New South Wales this week and next week, with Dalby by far the closest to Clifton.

Former Donald resident, Mary Raynes, was among speakers at the 2025 AEGIC Australian barley seminars in China, early this month. The daughter of Donald’s Peter and Colleen Raynes, Mary was the leader of the delegation representing the Australia barley supply chain delivering the two major seminars.

Leading agronomic researcher and consultant, Mick Faulkner from Agrilink Agricultural Consultants (South Australia), will present groundbreaking findings at the upcoming Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) Annual Conference held on the Gold Coast from Tuesday 22 July to Thursday 24 July 24, 2025. Mick’s presentation, titled “Evaluation and positioning of dual-purpose cereals for the export hay market”...

New University of South Australia research is providing evidence of biological triggers of oil production in oats, a discovery that will help processing and potentially drive further demand for Australian-grown oats ... In this study, two contemporary varieties of oats were examined using spatial imaging techniques to track oil build-up during grain development.

Hugh Schuitemaker. A senior Riverland politician is "deeply concerned" at the potential risks caused by a decision to allow bee colonies from varroa mite outbreak areas into South Australia. PIRSA has announced the movement of bee colonies from varroa-positive interstate jurisdictions into South Australia will now be permitted entry under specific movement conditions, in an attempt to support business continuity for the beekeeping industry and pollination-dependent partners.

Lawson Grains, controlled by Canadian investment giant AIMCo and New Forests, has put up for grabs an expansive cropping aggregation in the Riverina that could fetch about $40m. The Buckingbong Aggregation takes in three separate parcels totalling 4245ha of cropping area, with more than 90 per cent of it arable.

Western Australian grain growers are set to benefit from a series of targeted projects focused on time of sowing in response to increasing seasonal variability. Delivered through the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) National Grower Network (NGN), the local projects are designed to support growers in making more informed sowing decisions...

The global grains and oilseeds trade continues to grow steadily and reached around 880 million metric tons in 2023/24, with an estimated value of USD 330 billion, according to Rabobank’s just-published global grains and oilseeds world map.

Climate change has such a large negative impact on Ukrainian agriculture that it affects the country's macroeconomic indicators ... Farmers from all regions of Ukraine have sown 5.5 million hectares of spring grain and leguminous crops ... However, this spring cannot be called ordinary.

In many European countries right now - Spain, France, Hungary and Poland - farmers are just putting the finishing touches on planting their sweet corn. Similar plantings occur in other parts of the world - from South Africa to Chile, Uruguay and New Zealand - at a different time of the year. They have one key thing in common: they source their sweet corn seeds from Snowy River Seeds in Orbost.

Michelle Daw. Grain Producers South Australia says new federal drought support measures will offer limited immediate relief to grain producers facing severe financial pressure across SA.

The Birchip Community Leisure Centre (BCLC) is celebrating a significant boost thanks to the generous support of Cargill Cares, which has donated $25,000 to help fund the installation of a new and much-needed coolroom. The coolroom will be a game-changer for the centre, improving food storage and service capacity for the many community events...

The ongoing threat of mouse activity to Australian grain growers is the focus of two key investments aimed at reducing the impact of mice in crops ... While advancements in farming systems have resulted in tremendous benefits, they have also inadvertently contributed to increasing the pest problem.

Australia’s farmers are heading towards a record-high winter crop planting this year, Rabobank says in its newly-released 2025/26 Australian Winter Crop Outlook. The annual outlook, by the agribusiness banking specialist’s RaboResearch division, says the nation’s grain growers are expected to plant an estimated 24.5 million hectares of winter crop this year, up 0.8 per cent on last season.

The practice of dry sowing has become increasingly common with frequent years of below average rainfall in the sowing season. Dry sowing, where crops are sown into a dry seed bed before season breaking rainfall, has helped farmers decrease production risk and manage workload.

Australia’s pulse exports – comprising chickpeas, beans, lentils, lupins and peas – may face minor headwinds in the year ahead due to changes in global supply and demand, Rabobank says in a newly-released report. The food and agribusiness banking specialist says the most likely impacts on farmgate prices and export margins for pulses will stem from currency volatility and shipping costs.

A research project is under way to aid Australian grain growers to manage snail and slug damage in crops by optimising bait spreading operations. Snails and slugs cause substantial crop damage and impose costs on the Australian grains industry estimated at $43 million annually.

The National Food Security Green Paper released ... by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute is a wake-up call and highlights Australia’s critical food security challenges, industry body GrainGrowers said...