Grains

The decision by the European Union to extend approval for the use of glyphosate is welcome news for Australian farmers.  GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel said the decision followed an earlier assessment by the European Food Safety Authority that found no critical areas of concern.  

Global food commodity prices are set for respite in 2024 after three years of record highs caused by war, adverse weather and rising energy and input costs, according to Rabobank’s annual Agri Commodity Markets Outlook report. The specialist food and agribusiness bank predicts that global prices of key food staples sugar, coffee, corn and soybeans will fall...

GrainGrowers has announced the winners of its annual Calendar Competition which provides Australian grain growers the opportunity to showcase the beauty of farm life through photography. This year, a significant number of high-quality entries were submitted from across the country.

“What a difference a year makes,” said Naracoorte Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross, reflecting on his first 12 months as a civic leader. Tough economic conditions are gouging deep into the lives of many – a direct contrast to that leading up to last year’s November 10 SA local government elections.

Despite low mouse activity reported around Australia, grain growers are being asked to remain vigilant and harvest cleanly to enhance future baiting effectiveness and increase on-farm profitability. Leading mouse experts recently spoke at the National Mouse Group Meeting supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment, where the link between harvest losses and baiting effectiveness was discussed.

AEGIC’s oat noodles and oat ‘rice’ are destined for supermarket shelves, with a Western Australian based company set to begin producing the innovative foods. AEGIC’s oat scientists developed manufacturing processes for 100% whole grain noodles and a ‘rice’ product that can be eaten like regular rice.

Proposed increases of up to 52.52 per cent in east coast container port access charges by DP World Australia (DPWA) are excessive and highlight the need for urgent government action, GrainGrowers said. Under the Notice of Intention issued by DPWA, landside fees at each of its terminals will increase significantly from 1 January 2024…

Thanks to photographer extraordinaire Rob Leeson for this great photo of Newstead farmer Tony Butler, and Kelpie Mac, in a paddock of wheat. In recent weeks, the local region has received around 40mm of rain, and this has been a bonus for farmers.

RA and SJ Hatty’s crop of Boree wheat has won the Ganmain Show Society’s annual Royal Agricultural Show wheat crop competition. The crop of Boree wheat sown on May 9 has a yield estimate of 5.0 t/ha.

After extreme market volatility and record-high prices in recent years, global fertiliser prices are expected to settle in 2024, despite uncertainty posed by the Israel-Hamas conflict as it currently stands, Rabobank says in a new report. In its just-released Semi Annual Fertiliser Outlook, titled What is next?, the agribusiness banking specialist says while the Israel-Hamas conflict creates some uncertainty in the outlook for fertiliser markets, the current impact for the food and agri sectors is manageable.

Australia’s agricultural workforce is steadily growing and changing, with more women and young people joining the sector. The ABARES Insights Snapshot of Australia’s agricultural workforce shows the changing state of the agricultural workforce based on data from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing.

Harvest is fast approaching and Nhill Free Press and Kaniva Times contacted Graincorp for an update about Nhill, Kaniva, Lillimur and the Wimmera regions in the lead up to harvest, and this harvest, GrainCorp is excited to introduce remote tailgate operation for trucks equipped with compliant air-operated tailgates ... The initiative is aimed at optimising truck turnaround times while upholding the highest safety standards in the industry.

After three consecutive strong harvests, Australian grain and oilseed production is set to return to more modest totals for the current season as drier growing conditions ‘hit home’, Rabobank says in its just-released 2023/24 Australian Winter Crop Forecast. The bank says Australia is on track to harvest a total winter crop of 48.72 million tonnes for the current season.

Australian grain producers have delivered another firm message to Canberra about their unambiguous opposition to paying the Federal Government’s proposed 10 per cent biosecurity levy ... “GPA understands the Federal Government’s intent to deliver a sustainable funding model for biosecurity, but the proposed policy fails to deliver this outcome on multiple levels”: GPA Chair and WA grain producer, Barry Large.

Australian sugar, barley and feed grain prices were stronger in September, in contrast to cattle prices which have reached their lowest levels since late 2014, according to NAB’s October Rural Commodities Wrap ... the Wrap reports the NAB Rural Commodities Index* fell 4.6% in September and is now 34% below the peak in rural prices back in June 2022.

The large volume of production and broken logistics have made Ukrainian grain an attractive target for politicians and businessmen ... ARR.News asks Ukrainian market specialists: how much will the cost of Ukrainian grain decrease if problems with exports persist?

New analysis from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has led to the European Commission’s recognition of the Australian canola industry’s low-emissions credentials for the second time, enabling local canola growers continued access to lucrative international markets.  Australia is a major supplier of canola to the European Union (EU) biodiesel market, with over 1.8 million tonnes exported annually to European countries.

The ability of the Australian grains industry to compete internationally is being seriously hampered by supply chain inefficiencies, with recent record harvests highlighting a need for more capacity in the current network, a GrainGrowers commissioned report has found.  The ‘Connecting the Dots: Improving Australian Grain Supply Chain Efficiency’ report was compiled by independent global strategy consultancy LEK.  

Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm recently provided local students hands-on experience of climate action research, with a focus on preserving important grains and plants for the future. The visit was by a group of students who are currently studying Agricultural and Horticultural Science at Goroke P-12 College.

The removal of tariffs on Australian barley by Chinese authorities has seen barley prices trend higher since the start of August, according to NAB’s September Rural Commodities Wrap. The NAB Rural Commodities Index* fell 1.6% in August and is now 30.7% lower compared to when Australian rural commodity prices peaked in June 2022.

Grain growers across central and northern New South Wales are being advised to be ‘alert, not alarmed’ as reports of Russian wheat aphid (RWA) in winter crops come in from across the region. NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) entomologist at the Tamworth Agricultural Centre, Dr Zorica Duric said RWA had been detected in crops on the Liverpool Plains and around Moree in recent weeks.