Grains

Australia is looking towards harvesting a "marginally larger" winter crop this season, despite significant weather challenges experienced in a number of key grain-growing regions throughout the year, Rabobank says in its just-released 2024/25 Australian Winter Crop Forecast. The agribusiness banking specialist says the nation is on track to produce an estimated total winter crop of 47.1 million tonnes…

Weed seeker and spot spraying technology is reducing the cropping area paraquat is applied to by between 40-90 percent for one Western Australian grower.   But now, proposed changes to the use of this herbicide could ban this practice and potentially lead to more of the chemical being used across larger areas of Australia’s grain growing regions.  

Australian pulse production is expected to reach historically-high levels this season, as growers capitalise on strong international demand, particularly from India – a major consumer of chickpeas and lentils ... RaboResearch general manager Australia and New Zealand Stefan Vogel said the 2024/25 Australian pulse harvest … is expected to exceed last year’s volumes, due to a higher area planted and despite dry seasonal conditions in some growing areas.

Grain handlers at Graincorp sites across NSW will vote on whether to take industrial action after negotiations broke down with the company, said the union which represents the workers. The 200 workers may decide to refuse to load or unload grain trucks and trains after an application was made to the Fair Work Commission to hold a ‘protected action ballot’ application on Tuesday.

Michelle Daw. Yorke Peninsula farmers are facing difficult decisions due to some of the lowest rainfall figures on record, compounded by hot, dry weather and frosts in September. These harsh conditions have severely impacted crop yields across the region, with many farmers facing difficult decisions ahead of the upcoming harvest.

Thousands of grain producers  will be put under unnecessary pressure to rethink  sustainable farming practices that benefit  the environment if proposed changes to the use of two key herbicides are approved. This is according to Grain Producers Australia Southern Region Director Mark Schilling,  who is just one of thousands of grain producers who rely  on timed applications of paraquat and diquat  in their programs to ensure a strong harvest result.

As the price of reliable rainfall farmland in Western Australia is careering past $10,000 per hectare, and the big corporates are out there with their even bigger chequebooks, outbidding the neighbours, what options do farmers have if they want to stay in the game? Well, the answer is to follow the example of their forefathers and up stumps and find a new country with some new land that can be opened up.

Sophie Baldwin. Roger Reid thought he was doing the right thing when he made the decision to invest some big dollars into water efficiency projects on his mixed farming property in the Riverina. However, Roger has been left scratching his head and questioning his decision this season, after the Bullatale Creek was reduced to water holes and he couldn’t access water.

Grain Producers Australia hosted an online session delving into the chemical review of key herbicides paraquat and diquat. The Session included insights from GPA RD&E Spokesperson Andrew Weidemann and Interim Chief Executive Pete Arkle.

This year, global grain production will be somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0 billion tonnes, of that around 500 million tonnes will be available for export ... Take your pick as to the impact of going organic, but on average, between a third and half the world starves. But what about just taking out paraquat and glyphosate—the foundation chemicals for no-till farming?

Michelle Daw. The GrainFlow site at Maitland is one of five storage and handling sites in South Australia and western Victoria to be bought by Viterra from Cargill. The other sites are at Crystal Brook, Mallala, Pinnaroo and Dimboola. Viterra has also announced it will buy Cargill’s mobile ship loader at Port Adelaide.

“The most profitable farms were those that spent more time working on their business than in their business,” Professor Ross Kingwell said in his presentation at BCG’s Main Field Day at Nullawil last week ... Professor Kingwell’s presentation was a highlight for many of the 400 growers and advisers who attended the event.

At the recent GrainCorp awards, Nhill’s Ellie Murden was named Victoria’s Employee of the Year. GrainCorp praised Ellie for her outstanding performance as Site Manager, noting her dedication and ability to consistently exceed expectations ... Last harvest, Ellie helped the Nhill site break multiple records, including processing 19,000 tonnes in a single day.

Michelle Daw. A single 107-hectare paddock in prime cropping land near Maitland sold for $4.75 million last week, setting what is likely to be a record price for Yorke Peninsula. The price achieved for Lot 210, Pine Point Road at an online auction on Monday, September 9, equates to $44,393 per hectare, or $17,992 per acre.

GrainGrowers has made it easier for growers to understand greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the release of a report today that compares available carbon calculators.  GrainGrowers’ General Manager Major Projects and Thought Leadership, Sarah Hyland, said the report was designed to improve carbon literacy among grain growers.  

Representatives from across Australia's agriculture and fuel supply chain have urged the Federal Government to immediately initiate a national low-carbon liquid fuel feedstock strategy to give effect to the ambitious agenda outlined in the Federal Government Aviation White Paper released this week.  The industry groups include GrainGrowers, the Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) and Queensland Cane Growers Organisation (CANEGROWERS).

Researchers from the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) are taking the idea of "try before you buy" straight to the bank to make it easier for farmers to utilise ag tech. The $3.7 million research project … investigates how to better utilise existing and emerging ag technologies to improve drought resilience for grain farmers.

Increases in the price of wheat and lamb helped lift the NAB Rural Commodities Index* for the third consecutive month, rising by 0.4 per cent in June. NAB’s July Rural Commodities Wrap … reports while the wheat price rally slowed in June, prices continued to rise, increasing 3.5 per cent on average over the month.

These fees and charges, largely applying to importers and travellers entering and leaving the country, had remained unchanged for the best part of a decade until July 2023 and have since brought in an additional $47.1 million.  Grain Producers Australia Chair Barry Large said having fees and charges for these activities match the actual costs of managing these processes, whether it be for inspections and assessments or potential incident management, was commonsense.