WELL, what a week it was for the central west.
A flying visit from the duke and duchess into Dubbo, a media storm over a young fella who was just making sure the beard was real, homemade banana bread on the veranda over a cuppa all coupled up with localised storms delivering much needed rain to keep pasture growth going and filling of crop heads.
For some, it will be worth gold while others it’s just another kick in the guts as hay was on the ground.
In the Northern part of the state and southern Queensland, rainfall totals are starting to add up in areas which as expected has large sorghum sowing kicking off.
As the sorghum sowing progresses, the foot has been taken off the throttle in demand for new and old crop thus filtering through the whole grain trade with old crop and current new season pricing flat lining or dropping depending on area.
The halt in crop prices is very intriguing.
The lack of seller engagement or even growers wanting to talk about “a crop’’ just because it has rained in most cases will not increase yield and therefore continues to make the case for a lack of liquidity in the market, with new crop yields and old crops stocks being held very close to the chest and a difference in buyer and seller expectations resulting in very little trade is being done.
‘Where to from here’ many growers are starting to ask,. Well it will come down to competition.
The East Coast demand taking new crop away from Western Australia export sales, demand from the flour millers to feed their huge appetite reported to be around 2.8 to 3 million tonnes along the eastern seaboard, while the domestic livestock producer will continue to feed livestock on the back of record wool, lamb and mutton prices.
However the dark horse in all of this is the rainfall in the north, will this be the dictator of pricing in the months to come?
There is plenty of variables, decisions and risk to be factored but I believe the biggest one for the grower is not to fall between two ships, becoming complacent and thinking the market will go higher and higher and holding off or cashing all the chips in at once and selling at harvest time.
All options must be considered in what is best for your business so I think it is a great chance to ask the bride to make some banana bread, boil the billy and study the form guide and see what will be best for you!