Reid Seaby, Regional Manager WA

2 minute read

There was a little bit of rain around last week but for those with little to no sub-soil moisture it was of minimal benefit. For the lucky ones with moisture underneath or where crops have germinated, this rain would have been helpful. The better falls were in the south where they received as much as 20mm but anywhere north of the highway wasn’t so lucky and generally had only 1-5mm. Unfortunately, the forecast doesn’t look very positive so it would seem a break in early June is the best we can hope for at this stage.

Average yields are still very much achievable with a June break, but the lack of sub-soil moisture remains a concern for a lot of farmers. If we move into the middle of June without rain, it’s suspected growers will start to drop planned plantings and the reduction in crop area will obviously become more significant the later the season becomes. But I do have some positive news…. I sat with grandad last week studying the rainfall of seasons past and history shows he has managed to grow plenty of good yielding crops after late starts to the season. The stats show we have until June 22nd before it becomes ‘late’.

Despite the good prices, grower selling has been relatively subdued which illustrates current production risk outweighs price. With WA remaining dry, barley prices moved $10/MT higher in the past week which sees old crop back to $295/MT and new crop at $260/MT FIS in Kwinana. Wheat price moves were also positive as Chicago wheat futures received another welcome jump over weather concerns in the US. Both old and new crop APW1 are at $305/MT FIS in Kwinana. Canola bids pushed $6-18/MT higher over the past week.

 

Pictured: Plenty of dust in the eastern Wheatbelt as farmers continue to seed dry.

Prices as at 23rd May 2019

* View of current market pricing. Does not represent current Agfarm bids.

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