Farmers call for financial support as low quality grain saturates markets

Heavy rain has wiped hundreds of thousands of dollars off crop values as growers search for markets for damaged grain.

Growers are searching for markets for low weight and sprouted canola. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Grains industry leaders are calling for financial support from the federal government as farmers tally losses for rain and flood-damaged crops and grain handlers search for buyers for downgraded stock.

NSW Farmers grains committee chairman Justin Everitt said farmers right across the state were reporting downgraded quality crops after weeks of heavy rain.

“Some people down the bottom part of the state thought they might have escaped it, but unfortunately not,” he said.

Mr Everitt said growers in rain and flood-affected areas from northern NSW to the Victorian border would be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses each, and were already struggling to find buyers for damaged stock.

“You can only assume the market will be oversaturated (with lower quality crops),” he said.

Low weight and sprouted canola was proving particularly hard to find buyers for, he said.

“There’s not too many market options at the moment for that shot.

“Growers are making phone calls and trying to market it themselves. It’s another added stress.”

GrainCorp put a temporary halt on accepting low weight canola for three days before beginning to accept the product again last week.

Cargill director Peter McBride said the company had “opened up some storage solutions” at central and southern NSW GrainFlow sites for rain affected canola and was working with its global network to find possible markets for the product.

Grain Growers Limited chairman Brett Hosking said the Federal Government needed to give financial support to farmers hit by heavy rain in NSW and parts of South Australia.

Mr Hosking said the farmers had taken a “pretty big financial hit” and needed funds quickly to buy fertiliser and other inputs for next year’s crop.

He said they needed low or no interest loans, similar to what had been delivered during droughts.

“This is effectively a drought, or a wet drought – the outcomes are the same,” he said.

“They (the government) need to be nimble and roll out funds quickly because farmers are buying their fertiliser right now.

“Farmers want security to purchase those products.”