Commodity Conversations

This week the Mecardo team is joined by Nick Booth, Mecardo Analyst and Director of Next Level Grain Marketing. This week is all about cropping, as we dive into the ABARES crop progress report, global balance sheets in grain and the factors that will impact the upcoming season.

This week, the Mecardo team is joined by John Gibson, Director of ProAdvice to discuss the upcoming end of the financial year. We discuss family farm finances including new changes to be aware of and other strategic planning opportunities growers can focus on. 

This week Rob is joined by Mark Symes Southern Wool Manager at G. Schneider Australia to discuss the latest in the wool market.  Mark talks us through the balance between demand and supply in the current market and where to next for accredited wool and the finer wool market in general. 

With an El Nino looming and mixed conditions around the country, we turn to the skies this week with Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist at Nutrien Ag Solutions. Today's episode covers all things climate drivers, diving into what to expect from an El Nino this season, the implications for rainfall, temperature and frost patterns, as well as what might be in store beyond the current season.   You can check out Eric's latest fortnightly weather forecast for Australia here, https://youtu.be/xX_QL0aiWwA

This week Rob is joined by Scott Young, Livestock Council President of the Victorian Farmers Federation.  Scott’s mandate is to improve the Biosecurity outcomes for all farmers, and he talks us through what VFF is doing behind the scenes to ensure Biosecurity plans can protect farmers from risks such as trespassing.  Read more at https://www.vff.org.au/policy/animal-welfare-biosecurity/biosecurity/

This week Rob is joined by Luke Bowen, the Inaugural CEO of Cattle Australia. We discuss the takeaways for the cattle industry with this week’s budget release and upcoming opportunities for the cattle industry.

This week Rob reaches out across the country to the Nutrien Ag Solutions livestock team, to get the latest insight into what exactly is happening in lamb and cattle markets. Andrew Holt, senior livestock account manager, talks about conditions for cattle up North.  Leon Giglia, Regional Livestock Lead, runs us through supply situations in WA and Ron Rutledge, South-East Livestock Development Manager discusses the latest developments in South-East Australia. 

This week, Rob is joined by David Cornish, Director at the Centre of the Study of Agribusiness at Marcus Oldham.  The agenda is all about the landscape for developing and fostering the next generation of leaders in Agriculture. 

This week the Mecardo team, Olivia Agar, Robert Hermann, and Ethan Woolley discuss the key market updates for commodity markets in 2023.  We cover US Beef exports, wool supply surpluses, the ups and downs of the mutton job, Sugar cane success, cotton concerns, and barley back in China. 

This week, Rob is joined by Bronte Lloyd, Animal production specialist with Nutrien Ag Solutions. Bronte discusses some strategies for maximising efficiencies in livestock production including balancing nutrition through supplementation and the importance of managing feed and vaccinations for breeding stock. 

This week Olivia is joined by Bonnie Skinner, CEO of Sheep Producers Australia.  With free trade negotiations well underway in the EU and UK, Bonnie talks us through some key insights regarding the demands of the European lamb consumer.  Bonnie also discusses how EID implementation and traceability can unlock value in these markets. 

This week, Rob is joined by Ally Jaffrey, Wool Area manager for Nutrien Ag Solutions based in Crookwell NSW. Ally plays a key role in the NSW SMBA Southern Tablelands flock ewe championship and joins us to discuss what farmers are getting out of the competition.  We learn how benchmarking, networking, and the sharing of knowledge are driving excellence in Wool.

This week Rob is joined by commodity conversations regular Michael Whitehead, Head of Agribusiness Insights at ANZ.  Michael talks us through some of the key insights from the ANZ Agri in focus autumn report. We cover the outlook for a number of commodities including the climate and cost trends for farmers, the impacts of Chinese demand, continued conflict, and Post COVID supply chain developments. 

In this episode, Robert Herrmann chats with Tom Breen, General Manager of Customer and Business services at Nutrien Ag Solutions about the future of Ag, innovation in farm finance and how farmers can take advantage of those opportunities – even if cashflow doesn’t permit.

This week Olivia is joined by Lucy Noble, Industry Analyst with Hort Innovation. We discuss some of the key drivers behind the significant growth in productivity and value in the horticulture industry achieved in the last decade.  We learn more about the latest iteration of the Horticulture statistics handbook, a comprehensive resource covering over 75 different commodities; and when can we expect some relief to potato supply?