Put yourself in Peter O’Connor’s shoes. The farmer from Harden in southern NSW has watched his 1600 hectares of canola thrive through the winter, spectacularly blooming in the spring with the oil seeds’ signature fluorescent golden flower, as good rains have contributed to what should be a bumper crop.

At the same time, prices for canola have soared to record highs, peaking at nearly $1000 a tonne, up from the $600 he would normally see.