Latest news with #ABARES
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
National agricultural value expected to decline by $2.6 billion in 2025-2026
Low crop and livestock production volumes are expected to cut Australia's agricultural production value by $2.6 billion in 2025-2026. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences June quarter 2025 report revealed the gross value of agriculture is predicted to fall by 2.8 per cent to $90.7 billion. Australian crop production values were expected to fall by $2.1 billion, and livestock production was expected to decline by $0.5 billion as a result falling production values and volumes. Despite the forecasted fall, the total value of $71.7 billion for 2025-2026 was expected to be the third highest recorded export values. Southern WA's winter cropping season has had a strong start as a result of favourable weather conditions, according to ABARES executive director Dr Jared Greenville. He said other regions, including WA's northern cropping region, were highly dependent on rainfall 'especially where there is a total lack of soil moisture'. 'The rainfall outlook for these regions is currently positive, which is embedded in our current forecasts. but if not realised creates a downside risk to national production figures,' Dr Greenville said. 'Despite the risks, the overall seasonal outlook is positive but is expected to lead to lower production than last year. 'Nationally, an expected fall in crop production in 2025-26 will lead to a $2.1 billion fall in crop value and $0.5 billion reduction in livestock and livestock product values.' The report said the United States remained an important market for beef and other meat products, which makes up almost one-third of total Australian meat exports, with trade expected to remain 'robust' despite trade uncertainty. Dr Greenville said grain export volumes were expected to be resilient despite uncertainty around global trade policies. 'Australian agricultural exports are expected to be supported by tightening global grain stocks, demand for Australian red meat and a relatively low Australian dollar,' he said. Broadacre farming is expected to fall by $28,000 from $169,000 to $141,000.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Winter grain production to dip as dry conditions lead farmers to plant smaller area
Australia's winter crop production is expected to be 8 per cent lower this year, with drought and dry conditions affecting grain growers in South Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales. The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resources Economics and Sciences' (ABARES) June crop report estimates national winter grain production at 55.6 million tonnes. If realised, grain production would still be 13 per cent above the annual average production for the last 10 years. Dry conditions and a lack of summer rainfall across SA, western Victoria, southern New South Wales and Western Australia's northern wheatbelt meant farmers planted a smaller area than last year. "Much of the 2025–26 winter crop has been dry sown and will require adequate and timely rainfall during June to allow for crop germination and establishment. Dry autumn conditions are expected to have discouraged some growers from committing to their full planting intentions," the report said. The latest Bureau of Meterology (BOM) forecast said there was a 60 — 80 per cent chance that winter rainfall in drought-affected states could be above average. In South Australia's mid north, dry conditions and uncertainty over winter rains led grain grower Jono Mudge to reduce the area he sowed this year. "It's as bad as it gets, and it is as bad as it has has ever gotten," he said. Having received just 10mm of rain over the last five months, he isn't putting much faith in the BOM's winter forecast. "Our average annual rainfall is 325mm, if we can get 150mm from here until October I'll be stoked, but I can't see that happening the way it is at the moment." ABARES says if winter rainfall totals are above average, South Australian grain production would increase by 42 per cent to 7.5 million tonnes. Southern New South Wales farmer Ryan Dennis got halfway through his sowing program before the risk of not getting enough rain convinced him to pause. "It was desperate. You're putting money into the ground and hoping [for rain]," he said. Mr Dennis's farm in Downside, near Wagga Wagga, receives an average of 525mm of rain annually. With 150mm of rain so far, he said while crops have been slower to emerge this year, wheat and barley crops still have time. "Normal main season canola would hopefully be up around your ankles by now, but we're just finding [the very first leaves]," he said. "Everything's definitely delayed, but the wheat and the barley is not too far out of its [emergence] window." Many Western Australian grain growers completed sowing their crops into dry soils, but a slow moving low pressure system is expected to bring rain to most of the state this week. "Through all the farming districts, we're looking at most locations getting between 10-30mm [on Tuesday] as this system moves across WA," BOM senior meteorologist Joey Rawson said. "We've got three days of quite heavy rainfall across the farming regions." York farmer, and chair of GrainGrowers Rhys Turton said it's been a nervous wait for a season break. "I think most people plugged through their program without too many changes from what I'm hearing. "So I think as every day went by and there was more dust blowing behind the machines, everyone was looking to the sky and looking to phones for the latest weather forecast." Unlike the eastern states, ABARES said WA growers planted a larger area of winter grain crops this year. Above average rain in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales has helped farmers sow their winter crops with confidence. "Average to above average soil moisture levels at planting, combined with a positive rainfall outlook for winter, are expected to support above average yield prospects," ABARES said. "The weather was very kind to us during summer, which has allowed us to do this winter crop planting," grain grower Stuart McIntyre said. And with basically everything full at the moment, that'll allow us for a nice large summer crop."
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Farmers call for policy reform across multiple sectors as productivity collapses
Collapsing productivity on Australian farms has left a once world-leading sector at risk of being left behind by international competitors. Annual farm productivity today is just a quarter of what it was decades ago, prompting the national farming lobby to ring the alarm for a government-led policy overhaul, including changes to competition and workplace laws. Productivity measures how efficiently inputs such as feed, fertiliser, fuel, labour, land and water are used to produce outputs like beef, grain, milk or wool. Executive director at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), Jared Greenville, said the rate had fallen around 75 per cent from an annual rate of 2.2 per cent in the 1980s and 1990s. "Farm productivity has slowed and the average rate's about 0.6 per cent," Dr Greenville told Landline. "That's put us back in relative terms to international competitors as they're getting stronger productivity growth. As the federal government's commodity forecaster, ABARES has estimated the Australian farm sector will produce $91 billion of food, cotton and wool this year. If that eventuated it would be one of the most valuable years for the farm sector, likely further driven by a big winter crop forecast to harvest almost 60 million tonnes. The National Farmers' Federation said despite the high forecast it expected the productivity slump would worsen. NFF president David Jochinke claimed farmers were at the cutting edge of technology and "clever sustainable practices" but had been hampered by "poor policy, administrative burden, and green tape". The NFF used the productivity announcement to again call on the federal government to overturn a ban on live sheep exports, change competition laws, improve access to workers, and restrict transmission lines on farm land. Katie McRobert from the Australian Farm Institute said innovation typically drove productivity. That could include technological advances, increased research spending and improved infrastructure. She cited a 2017 study that found if farmers had adequate phone and internet access they would contribute an extra $20 billion to the economy. Ms McRobert said policy changes to drive productivity should also consider social, animal welfare and environmental impacts. "Maybe a regional community doesn't want to see all the farms in the region consolidate and become one big farm," she said. "As a society we need to step back a little bit from pure productivity measures and think about what it is we want to incentivise and what the goals are that we're seeking." Dr Greenville said Australian farming's high productivity rate before the year 2000 was the envy of not only global competitors, but also other parts of the Australian economy. It was driven by increased mechanisation — such as switching to larger tractors and rotary dairies — and major changes to trade rules such as deregulation. "We saw producers shift out of wool production and we saw the sheep flock fall from over 120 million to about 70 million that we see today, and a massive shift of those operations into cropping," Dr Greenville said. "The cropping industry became more productive as it could grow in terms of the scale of production." As a mixed farmer from north-east Victoria, the productivity slump prompted a mixed response from fifth-generation farmer James Russell. "It does surprise me a little bit as a grain grower. It doesn't surprise me as much as a sheep producer," Mr Russell said. "We've seen huge upticks in technology [in] our ability to grow a crop bigger and better. "In the sheep industry, we still farm sheep in a very similar way than we did 20 years ago. "We don't actually get a return, it costs us money to get sheep shorn [this year]." Cropping's annual productivity rate is sitting at 1.2 per cent, compared to 0.5 per cent for sheep, which has been plagued by low production and prices. Despite an annual productivity rate of almost 2 per cent in the 40 years before 2010, dairying's productivity rate has dropped away to basically zero. But ABARES said the sector is largely a two-speed industry, with some dairy farmers faring much better than others. One of those driving up the sector's productivity is Simon Scowen, who farms on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. This year Mr Scowen has built a large shed for his 800 milking cows. With easy access to mixed feed rations, shelter, fans and sprinklers, in the first few months since moving into the shed he said milk production jumped by 20 per cent. "Those that have been doing it for a couple of years in Australia, that we've gone and had a look at, they range from a 30 to 40 per cent increase in cow production by putting them in this facility," Mr Scowen said. Dairy Australia says seven per cent of the milk produced in Australia comes from cows housed in a shed. That figure is expected to increase. Watch ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm AEST on Sunday or stream anytime on ABC iview.
