Australia: Rain mixed blessing as harvest accelerates

Patchy rain across eastern Australia has slowed harvest in some areas, and bolstered the yield and quality outlook for later crops.

Unimpressive bids and uncertainty about yield and quality have kept a lid on grower selling of cereals in southern regions, but business has started to pick up in the north.

Trade sources say northern consumers are lifting their bids a few dollars to cover their nearby needs ahead of what is shaping up as a run on chickpea selling to fill vessels booked for November and December.

Table 1: Indicative prices in Australian dollars per tonne.

Rain over southern and Central Queensland has been ideal for sorghum already in the ground, and is expected to prompt another round of planting.

It has, however, interrupted harvesting, although most registrations, if any, were single digit.

Qld locations that received substantial rain in the week to 9am today included: Dalby 13mm; Emerald 22mm; Felton 43mm; Jondaryan 28mm; Macalister 10mm; Miles 16mm; St George 13mm, and Springsure 34mm.

With much of Qld’s barley delivered, warehoused or stored on farm, the harvest spotlight is moving to chickpeas and wheat.

Sunrise Commodities managing director Scott Merson said consumers were milling around for wheat and barley.

“Prompt barley is hard to move, but there’s plenty of demand for November-December,” Mr Merson said.

“Wheat’s not hard to move either.”

Wheat of all grades is selling to domestic consumers, and container business is grabbing some loads of 11-13 percent protein.

Anecdotally, 5-10 percent screenings appears to be common in higher-protein wheat, while some loads with minimum 13pc protein have screenings above 20pc.

Chickpea values have firmed in the past week as traders jostle to cover near-term shipment requirements.

“Chickpeas are getting a bit more attention from growers this week.”

Mr Merson said growers were generally looking at “a pretty slow roll-out” of new-crop cereals and pulses at current values.

“The grower is not really tipping into that trade.”

Faba beans are attracting some modest domestic demand, mainly from the poultry sector, at around $385-$390/t delivered Brisbane, but export accumulation is yet to be seen.

Some growers are warehousing chickpeas and faba beans, as well as wheat and barley.

Yields for barley have generally been well above average, and above average for wheat, although a number of wheat crops are showing signs of a tough finish.

“We were one rain short of an absolute blinder.”

Southern Qld’s wheat harvest is estimated to be around halfway through.

In line with Mr Merson’s comments, one trader said buying interest has ramped up this week.

“It seems like everyone’s coming to the table, and wanting to talk prices,” the trader said.

“Barley prices are sneaking up, there’s a bit of wet weather around and if some of these feedlots don’t get a few deliveries, we’ll see who’s swimming naked once the tide goes out.”

The Brisbane container market for H1 and H2 has also kicked into gear.

“We’re starting to see some 12-12.5pc protein.”

In New South Wales, parts of the north-west slopes and plains have had rain since the weekend, with higher registrations including: Coonamble 17mm; Moree 20mm; Narrabri 36mm; Nyngan 26mm, and Walgett 14mm.

At Moree, B&W Rural director Peter Birch said the rain would help sorghum and dryland cotton already in the ground, and has paused harvesting on some farms.

“By Friday, they might get back into it,” Mr Birch said.

On the north-west plains and outer slopes, many growers have finished harvesting barley.

“They’ve only just started on wheat in a lot of areas.”

A cool to cold start to the week, plus some rain in South Australia, and parts of Victoria and southern NSW, has slowed the ripening of the southern winter crop.

However, harvest is getting busier in the southern half of NSW, and in SA, with most farmers in Vic yet to start.

While canola has stopped filling pods in all but the latest areas, namely SA’s South East and Vic’s Western District, cereals and pulses in medium-rainfall areas are still generally green enough to benefit from this week’s falls.

In NSW, registrations included 15mm at Temora, and 23mm at Young, but mostly single-digit figures, if any, in other districts.

In Vic, the week brought some handy falls, including: Birchip 11mm; Dimboola 32mm; Horsham 21mm; Murrayville 12mm; Ouyen and Woomelang 8mm, and Rupanyup 37mm.

“The rain was good for green crops,” one consumer said.

While it may boost yields and test weights, it is not going to increase forward selling.

“With prices at the moment, you’re happy to buy, but the grower is reluctant to sell forward; they’re hoping for a lift in prices.”

Lentil and faba bean prices remain low, and growers with livestock will not consider letting fabas go at current levels of around $400/t delivered consumer.

Canola remains the cash sell of choice, with higher-spec wheat and barley likely to follow.

Tags: Australia, harvest, barley, wheat, chickpeas, yield, sorghum, rain, later crops