Sydney/Reuters – Heavy rain falling along Australia’s east coast could put up to half of wheat production from the country’s second largest grain producing state at risk of quality downgrades, traders said on Wednesday. As much as 100 millimetres (3.9 inches) of rain is expected to fall across New South Wales on Wednesday and Thursday, forecasts […] Read more
Heavy rains threaten Australia’s east coast wheat crop – traders
Drought exposes cracks in Australia’s acclaimed water market
Sydney | Reuters — A pioneering Australian scheme to improve the management of water in the world’s driest inhabited continent is facing its first real test as an intensifying El Nino threatens crops and builds tensions between farmers and environmentalists. The three-year old management plan for the Murray-Darling basin, an area twice the size of […] Read more
Australia lifts beef export forecast as El Nino bites
Sydney | Reuters — Australia raised its forecast for beef exports by 20 per cent on Tuesday as drought conditions worsened by an El Nino weather pattern force farmers in the world’s third-largest exporter to maintain near-record slaughter rates. Beef exports are expected to total 1.225 million tonnes in the crop year to July 1, […] Read more
GrainCorp to boost U.S. malt output, target craft beer boom
Sydney | Reuters –– Australian agribusiness GrainCorp plans to nearly double output capacity at one its U.S. malt plants, to capitalize on soaring North American demand for craft beer. Typically produced by small, local brewers, the popularity of craft beers has grown rapidly in recent years in the U.S. as drinkers seek new tastes, with […] Read more
Australia beef exports to fall on lower slaughter rate
Sydney | Reuters — Exports of Australian beef are likely to fall faster than previously expected as slaughter rates drop off as a two-year drought eases, threatening to add fuel to a rally in U.S. beef prices. A record slaughter rate has dropped nearly a fifth in the last two weeks, as farmers start to […] Read more
Australia’s largest private land owner to sell cattle business
Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s largest private land owner will sell its cattle operations, including the world’s largest ranch and an area equivalent in size to South Korea, to raise cash for other businesses and investments. S. Kidman and Co. said it will sell its privately owned 11 cattle stations and a feedlot, complete with […] Read more
Ocean warming suggests 50 per cent chance of El Nino
Sydney | Reuters — Recent warming of the Pacific Ocean may signal an El Nino weather event is forming, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday. Climate models indicate the central tropical Pacific Ocean is likely to continue to warm, with El Nino thresholds to be reached or exceeded by mid-year, the weather bureau […] Read more
Marubeni to close Australian grain business
Sydney/Hamburg | Reuters — Japan’s Marubeni Corp. is to close its Australian grain trading business after a review of its global operations. The move “is not in any way reflective of the performance of Marubeni Australia’s grain trading business division, which has been trading profitably for the past three years,” Makoto Kajitani, chairman and managing […] Read more
Feared plant disease found on Australian banana farm
Sydney | Reuters — An outbreak of a feared disease affecting banana plants has been confirmed on an Australian farm, raising worries over the outlook for the country’s A$550 million (C$537 million) industry. The so-called Tropical Race 4 strain of Panama disease was confirmed at a farm in Tully in the country’s northeast after tests […] Read more
Australia backs farmers on foreign ownership gripes
Canberra | Reuters –– The Australian government has sided with farmers who say official data vastly underestimates foreign ownership of the nation’s farmland, as it moves to clamp down on overseas purchases of agricultural land. Foreign ownership is a key concern for many farmers, a crucial part of the conservative government’s support base, who worry […] Read more
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