The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced in early April of a market study into the cattle and beef industry to be undertaken this year. Issues covered by the study are wide ranging but a particular aspect of the investigation that caught our eye was the focus on greater transparency with regard to profits and margins along the beef supply chain ..read more

For some time, there have been messages from wool processors that much of the Australian wool clip is too long. If this is true then shorter lots should attract a premium – this would be a normal economic lever to attract more of the type, and if that is the case can wool producers justify the additional cost of two shearings in one year? To get to the bottom of this issue, a full understanding of the situation is needed. It is normal for suppliers (wool growers) to want to meet customer requirements (processors). At the same time, meeting the “new” requirement cannot increase the ..read more

“I won’t use swaps because if the market goes up I will lose” “I have heard of a wheat farmer who lost his farm as a result of taking a Grain Swap” “The bank always wins; they know more about the market than we do” “With swaps, someone always wins and someone always loses” Sound familiar? These are just some of the statements we have heard from farmers when the issue of swaps is raised ..read more

There’s no question that the live sheep export trade is an important market for many Australian sheep producers, but it also supports a raft of other businesses along the supply chain. Help us to determine the value of the live sheep trade to regional Australia and participants in the supply chain by completing these short surveys ..read more

Greasy wool prices have weakened in the past couple of months, from high levels, so the natural question is “What is going on?”. This article is an assessment of the background to the current wool market to help understand where prices are likely to go ..read more

Drought, destocking, and strong overseas cattle prices. The current picture of the cattle market isn't unfamiliar, with many factors on the surface looking remarkably similar to the period just before the breaking of the 2014 drought. So can we expect a repeat of the historic rally ..read more

Producers of 100% Angus cattle have been enjoying a premium over non-Angus breeds for most of the last five years. As Wagyu producers have learnt in recent times, the presence of a quality breed branding doesn't guarantee a sustainable premium. Robert Herrmann discusses the risks and opportunities for the Angus breed in his presentation at 'Angus through the Ages ..read more

In recent weeks Lempriere Grain went into administration, taking with it debts of A$18.8m. This is not the first grain company to fold and will not be the last. We felt like it was an opportune time to revisit counterparty risk in light of recent industry rumours of a number of grain traders at risk. Is counterparty risk a major issue, and how can you protect against it ..read more

The latest biosecurity failure in South Africa (SA), the detection of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), not only had immediate impacts, with the banning of all movements of cloven foot animals and their products; but also consequential impacts on other SA farm products ..read more

What happens when you put 200 women from the meat industry in one room? Thanks to Sheep Producers Australia I was able to find out at the launch of Meat Business Women Australia. The networking event held in Melbourne brought women from right across the country, and right across the meat supply chain, including producers, processors, retailers, industry representatives, as well as this fortunate market analyst ..read more