Commodity Conversations

Volatility in agricultural markets continues to be the name of the game this year as commodities continue their roller coaster ride up and down. In this week’s episode Rob and Liv from Mecardo discuss the macro-economic factors weighing some markets down and what producers can do in the face of market volatility. They also discuss the current price difference between the sheep and cattle markets of late, and what we can expect going forward.

This week we called in to check on Rob Herrmann who is currently travelling in Spain & Portugal. Although he’s on vacation, Rob’s been keeping a keen eye on the agricultural landscape in those countries and shares some of his observations with us around the similarities and differences with Australian agriculture. Grab your favourite tempranillo, some pan and enjoy this week’s chat with Rob, live from Spain.  

Saleyards are the hive of activity for many regional areas. For hundreds of years, they have been an important connection and community interaction point for people living in rural areas. Heather Ellis from BlueWren connections, has produced a report on the social value of the saleyards, an initiative of The Australian Livestock Markets Association, highlighting some crucial ways that saleyards support individual and community well being & health. Heather’s stories of the personal aspects of saleyards, combined with data from her research, give a great understanding behind the benefits they bring to communities as well as areas that they could improve in. 

The FMD & LSD threat is still on our doorstep despite not dominating headlines as it was recently. This week we bring you an ‘on the grounds’ report from Dr Ross Ainsworth about the outbreaks in Indonesia, the local response to the situation and likelihood of either of the diseases spreading to Australian livestock. Dr Ainsworth has 40 years plus working as a vet with large animals, mainly in the live export business in Northern Australia. Dr Ainsworth gives a concise summary of the Indonesian authorities response to the recent outbreaks, the reality of the practical challenges facing them as well as the ongoing threat to the Australian livestock industry, with some advice for producers to keep on the front foot in terms of protecting their properties and the industry.  

The grains & oilseed markets have been on a roller-coaster ride this year with prices for many crops reaching all-time highs earlier in the year before recently settling back down to pre-Russian invasion of Ukraine levels. Nick Booth from Next Level Grains Marketing joins us on episode 200 to talk us through the reasons behind the volatility this year and what we can expect going forward.  As always Nick explains the key international market drivers for the grains & oilseeds complex in a clear, succinct manner as well as touch on local conditions here in Australia.

Good weaning practices provide the foundation for an animals genetic potential to be fully reached. Rob Bell from ProAgni, joins us this week to discuss the keys to a successful weaning program with some interesting scientific insights and good practical advice on the transition period from milk to grass for weaners and calves. 

AuctionsPlus have recently released its’ second edition of “The Gavel”, and this week on the podcast we have their chief economist Tim McRae on to share the key insights, stories and challenges facing Australian livestock producers from their producer survey. 

Restocking and breeding up has been a driving feature of the Australian cattle market since the breaking of the drought. While the market has come off the boil slightly, there are always opportunities to be found whether it's in genetics, branding or trading. This week we're talking with Andrew Hosken from Hosken Stock and Land to see how the season is progressing, what markets are performing well and some of the opportunities for growth. 

There are plenty of challenges around in sheep and cattle markets but the underlying fundamentals for red meat demand remain strong. Ron Rutledge, Livestock Development Manager at Nutrien Ag Solutions, joins us today to share his insight into why we are seeing a rollercoaster ride on the sheep & lamb markets, what the outlook is for the spring flush, demand for meat and cattle market dynamics.

Data-driven insights and efficiencies for livestock marketing is speaking our kind of language, and Joel Rockes, Founder and Managing Director of Agrinous, has this at the core of his vision in digitising the livestock sector. Joel joins us to share how they are making this a reality, and some of the challenges & opportunities along the way.

There’s a lot of pieces to the sheep & lamb supply puzzle at the moment with more plenty of old season lambs still trickling through as we approach the traditional influx of new season lambs in spring. To help us understand what’s happening on the ground and what might be around the corner, we’ve got Adam Mountjoy, Regional Livestock lead for Nutrien, back on the podcast to share his insights around space for new season lambs, and what that could mean for price going forward. You can also read Angus Brown's take on the lamb supply situation here at Mecardo: https://mecardo.com.au/will-old-run-in-to-new/  

On this episode of commodity conversations, Olivia & Rob bring you the key stories & insights from Mecardo’s latest Quarterly Market Insights report for Q2 2022, covering the trends and movements in commodity markets as well as the outlook. Key topics: Quality issues and an extended season  put pressure on ovine markets Bullish fundamentals for grain & oilseed remain Cattle market falls from its peak Weaker AUD supporting demand for wool For a copy of the full report click here: Quarter 2 Mecardo report 2022

Demand for non-mulesed merino wool shows no sign of abating and as the dominant producer of merino wool, increased supply will have to come from Australia eventually. This week we have Sally Martin from Sheep Metrix talking to Rob Herrmann about her & her teams approach to farm management including producers on the non-mulesed path. Sally has 30+ years of experience working in the sheep industry and knows well the complexities involved in managing a farm business. Her method of assisting farmers on the non-mulesed journey is considered from each farms unique perspective.  Sally is passionate about using science & data to make informed decisions and today she shares some sound insights and advice for wool producers. Sheep Metrix are currently working in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia on a producer demonstration project supporting sheep producers transition to non-mulesed sheep which you can read more about here: https://www.sheepmetrix.com.au/initiatives#transition-non-mules

With headlines dominated by news of economic downturns nearly everywhere you look, due to a perfect storm of rising interest rates, ongoing logistic issues, covid resurgences & general political instability, not to mention Russia’s war on Ukraine -  this week we bring you part 2 of David Cornish, director of Agribusiness at Marcus Oldham & Rob Herrmann from Mecardo, where the two discuss lamb, goat, grain, wool & diary’s outlook in the face of the seemingly endless bad economic news cycle, with some promising signals for producers who are able to fill the gaps in international demand for Aussie products and weather the storm/s. 

Covid-19, the Russian war on Ukraine, logistics issues & and growing global population are all combining to create a perfect storm, mostly driving up commodity prices. David Cornish director of Agribusiness at Marcus Oldham interviews Rob Herrmann on the big factors or trends affecting agricultural commodities in the world right now, as well as the underlying demand driving commodity markets. This episode is split over two weeks, with the first episode the two discuss more of the big picture topics, followed on by next week where the two get down into the nitty gritty of the key commodity markets relevant to Australian farmers.

Plenty happening in Ag markets again this week. Oliva Agar & Robert Herrmann discuss rising cattle weights, new crop production forecasts, wools market share and sheepmeat exports. Head to the Mecardo website for all of this weeks analysis.

Dr Paula Gonzalez-Rivas is the Technical Services Manager for Nutrition at Virbac and on today’s episode she discusses some of the latest products developed by Virbac in relation to sheep health and the potential benefits they can bring to Australian sheep farmers.   About Virbac: Virbac (Australia) Pty Ltd is a specialist animal health company with its core business in sheep and cattle products, veterinary pharmaceuticals and vaccines, a wide range of petcare products for dogs and cats, plus a broad range of products for horses. Virbac has operated in Australia for over 30 years. With a team of over 200 personnel Virbac is one of the top 3 animal health companies in Australia. Virbac takes pride in its ability to develop and manufacture products in Australia, for Australia. The company has 4 sites in NSW with 3 of these dedicated to manufacturing. Virbac strives to develop and maintain close relationships with its customers. This is delivered by a team of over 60 personnel in sales, marketing and customer s

Charlie de Fegely, Dobie, south of Ararat, along with his family, run 9,000 composite ewes, turning off lambs in November. In 2019 he was awarded the biennial AW Howard medal for excellence in pasture research. It is believed to be the first time a farmer has been awarded the prestigious pasture improvement medal. Charlie has been a long term advocate of  science based research and is well positioned to comment on the impact Ag department budget cutbacks will have on the agricultural industry.   

The sustainability of wool as a fibre and sheep as a production system in Australia is well understood by those in the industry, but we can’t expect that end customers see it the same way. Ed Storey is president of Wool Producers Australia and joins us to talk to the trust in Australian wool, the sheep sustainability framework and why we need to give customers confidence in its provenance and our production.

Australia's sheep & cattle meat is highly sought after around the world, partly because of the strict biosecurity standards and clean green reputation of our livestock industry. We’re not immune to unwanted diseases entering our country however and the potential devastation they can cause. This week we turn the tables and Meridian Agriculture’s Mike Stephens is interviewing Rob Herrmann. Mike is the founder, board director and a senior business consultant for Meridian Agriculture.