Farmers brace for price fluctuations
Political unrest overseas and a dry February and March have cropping farmers in Victoria keeping a keen eye on prices.
Volatility on the world market and a welcome autumn break send mixed messages to grains and cropping farmers about to sow.
After above-average rainfall at the start of this year, things quickly dried out in February and March.
With the traditional sowing time of Anzac Day looming farmers were banking on rain early this week to top up the soil moisture profile.
Cropping farmer Craig Henderson, who runs property at Warracknabeal and is the president of the VFF Grain Council said while farmers were holding out for the rain, it could be a bit “hit and miss”.
“It might not be enough rain for some,” he said.
Mr Henderson said farmers generally felt optimistic in the lead-up to sowing despite volatility regarding pricing and concerns about increasing input prices.
“Inputs and machinery costs are a big burden,” he said.
He plans to sow oats, wheat, lentils, barley and vetch within the next four weeks.
“We expect 20mm of rain in the next few days, but the modelling keeps changing,” he said.
Domestically, wheat is tracking at $332 a tonne, with canola showing a slight reprieve to trade at $648 a tonne and lentils at $925 a tonne.
Internationally, there have been some concerns for wheat marketing, with rural forecaster Mecardo citing fears about terrorist attacks in Russia and tensions in the Red Sea.
Traders will keep an eye on the upcoming United States Department of Agriculture crop report, with early projections that the area of corn will decrease 3 per cent from last year, wheat will decrease 4.5 per cent, and beans will increase 3.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the weather forecast in the northern hemisphere has been considered just as good of a gauge for markets as the rain arriving domestically.
Mecardo reported that Canada had some good rain along the Alberta and southern border regions.
Agronomist and farmer Josh Merrett farms at Leeor in the Wimmera and said this region still had about a month before a seasonal break arrived.
“It looks like it is building up to a rain event now,” he said on Monday.
Mr Merrett said there was still plenty of soil moisture, and farmers in his area had done an excellent job of controlling summer weeds.
He plans to start sowing later this month, with vetch going in first before moving on to canola, beans, wheat and barley.
“The mood is good, and people have done the right thing to conserve soil moisture,” he said.
Canola yields expected to be halved at Westmere
Western District farmer Graeme McCrow usually cuts about 400 bales of hay. But this year he is cutting 2000.
Storms whip through cropping zones
A series of hit-and-miss storms have whipped through farming districts with some farmers stopping the header. While others have completely missed the rain.