Category: Crops

 

IT’S AN age-old question and something that we get asked time and time again: what’s the difference between a grain shed and a grain silo? Could one be more beneficial than the other? While they both store large amounts of grain, a grain shed functions quite differently from a grain silo, so it’s important to understand the differences and benefits of each storage solution.

When it comes to storing your grain harvest, you also want to be sure that you have the perfect storage solution that will ensure your grain is kept in optimum condition. Grain is an expensive commodity and when stored in optimum conditions, it has the potential to provide big returns on investment, if and when you go to sell. It’s important to research which grain-storage option will work best for you and your needs so that you have a functional storage space that is not only practical but won’t cost you money down the track.

Here we dive into the difference between grain sheds and grain silos. We will cover everything from advantages and disadvantages to price differences, and storage capacities. We will also cover external factors that may influence your storage decision like lead times and your budget.

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Grain silos: Advantages and disadvantages

 

A grain silo is a large steel structure that is used to store bulk materials like grain or fermented feed,  more commonly referred to as silage. Silos are often used by farmers to store their yearly harvest and may be located in a separate location to the farm. More often than not, farmers will make use of multiple silos to store grain so that they can maximise their return on investment and ensure that none of their harvest is left to spoil.

Advantages of grain silos

Fumigation: Silos can be easily fumigated. This is very beneficial in combating grain-storage insects that may make their way into your harvest. Fumigating a grain silo will get rid of any insects while ensuring that your grain is not spoiled.

Long-term storage option: Silos are a great solution if you have large amounts of grain that you need to store for long periods. They come in particularly handy for a bumper harvest season where you will have an abundance of grain to store, and it may not be used until the next year.

Disadvantages of grain silos

Slow load times: A grain silo is a very large structure and not easily accessible, so load and unload times are slow. An auger, essentially a long narrow pipe, must be used to load or unload grain from a silo; it can take some time for the grain to move through the auger to its destination. If you have a full grain silo, you can imagine that the process will take quite some time.

Single-purpose only: Unlike a multi-purpose farm shed or grain shed, a silo will only have one purpose – to store grain. This won’t be a problem if you regularly harvest grain; however, if you complete other activities on the farm, you may find that a multi-purpose storage shed could be a more suitable solution.

Safety: Grain silos hold large volumes of grain high above ground in cylindrical containers. While this isn’t a problem for much of their lifespan, they have the potential to cause incidents, as outlined by SafeWork SA. This includes grain silos collapsing, engulfment within the silos, and falls from silo structures; sadly, there are several examples of such accidents across Australia.

Grain silo capacity and the average cost

The storage capacity that grain silos provide has the potential to be huge. Several silos are often used at once for maximum storage capacity, so it’s not uncommon to find multiple silos in one location.

For example, if you were to have eight silos at a 300-tonne capacity each, you would have a total grain storage capacity of 2400 tons. Grain silos come at a high price point, which needs to be factored in. One 300t silo will cost roughly $100,000, so eight silos would then cost approximately $800,000.* That’s $333/t.

Grain sheds: Advantages and disadvantages

 

Like a silo, a grain shed is also used to store grain. A grain shed will feature a concrete pad and is often fully enclosed to protect your harvest from the elements. A grain shed is often custom-designed to meet different requirements and to serve multiple purposes.

Advantages of grain sheds

Fast load times: With grain sheds, you can simply drive on in and unload or load your grain, which makes for exceptionally quick load times. Grain sheds are commonly built with an 8m clearance, which also allows enough room for a semi-tipper which will make the job even easier.

Concrete bunkers: Most grain sheds will be reinforced with concrete bunkers which work well for the efficient use of a front end loader. Concrete bunkers will also ensure that grain is securely stored among sturdy walls that will not deteriorate. Concrete bunkers also help to ensure the quality of the grain.

Quick transport: If you have had a bumper harvest season and you have a lot of grain to store, then you’ll want to ensure that you can get to your grain-storage facility quickly. Grain sheds can be easily erected on site and, as they are big open spaces, you’ll waste no time transporting your grain from harvest to storage.

Multi-purpose: If you weren’t already aware, a grain shed can be a great multi-purpose storage space for all things farm-related during off-seasons. When you don’t have a harvest to store, a grain shed can be used for fertiliser, machinery, or hay storage.

Disadvantages of grain sheds

Fumigation: The one disadvantage of a grain shed is that it cannot be fumigated as a means of getting rid of insects.

Grain shed capacity and the average cost

A grain shed will be custom built to the size that meets your specific requirements, so providing an exact cost can be difficult. However, if we’re comparing apples with apples and the storage capacity of eight silos which is 2400 tons with a 42m x 18m x 8m grain shed which can hold 2500 tons of grain, then this makes it a bit easier.

We would estimate that one 2500t-capacity grain shed would cost $520,000.* That’s $208 per ton.

What to consider before you choose a grain silo or grain shed

As you can see, there are many differences between grain silos and grain sheds and each storage solution has its advantages. A grain shed or silo is a big investment for any grain harvester or farmer, so it’s important that you do your research to ensure that you end up with a solution that’s right for your needs. There are a few important factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing your grain storage solution.

Your budget

Your budget may very well determine whether you go with a silo or a grain shed. If purchased individually, silos will be cheaper; however, the costs can quickly add up, as it’s likely that you will need several to have enough storage. One grain shed will be cheaper than several silos.

It’s also important to note that additional costs involved with transporting grain harvest to silos can be big. Silos are often off-site, away from the farm, so transport costs are inevitable. Some farmers can spend up to $50,000 a year just to get their harvest to their silos.

When it comes to your budget, external factors like global supply-and-demand shortages are also driving grain prices up. For this reason, you may want to hold on to your grain for longer so investing in a larger grain storage solution could be beneficial.

Lead times

There is currently a big wait for silos, which is resulting in massive lead times, some as long as 18 months. A grain shed can be manufactured and erected quicker. As long as you lock your order in, you shouldn’t have to wait more than six to eight months.

How long you will store your grain

One last thing to consider is how long your grain will need to be stored. If you need to store it for a long time, a silo will offer more protection from the elements and has the added benefit that it can be fumigated should insects get into the grain. A grain shed is only recommended for shorter amounts of time, or in conjunction with a silo.

Some farmers will store their harvest in a grain shed initially and will then transport the harvest to a silo at their leisure. This reduces unnecessary time pressure and will cut down on transport costs.

So, grain silo or grain shed?

When it comes to deciding between a silo and a shed for your grain, the choice is yours. We hope that this article has given you some guidance around what is most suitable for your needs.

If you are interested in discussing your grain shed options and how an ABC Sheds grain shed could meet your needs, then we encourage you to reach out to us today.

Source: ABC Sheds

International

Black Sea market analyst SovEcon estimates Russian wheat exports for the 2024-25 season at 48.8Mt, down from 52.4Mt the previous year. In the first two months of the new season, Russia is expected to export 8.2Mt of wheat, down from 9.8Mt a year earlier, reflecting decreased exporter margins and relatively low demand.

Ukraine’s grain exports in first two months of the 2024-25 marketing year are estimated at 6Mt, compared to 3.6Mt in the same period last year. The volume includes 2.8Mt of wheat, 2.2Mt of corn and 1Mt of barley.

The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange has pegged Argentina’s 2024-25 corn crop area at 6.3mha, down 17pc compared to the previous year as pest and weather concerns impact planting decisions. Many growers are wary after the impact of the costly leafhopper plague last season.

China, reportedly, has initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into dairy imports from the EU. The investigation will include several dairy products, including fresh and processed cheese, and will review 20 EU subsidy programs, particularly those under the Common Agricultural Policy and specific to Italy and Finland’s dairy sectors. This move is seen as a response to the EU’s recent decision to expand tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

Algeria has issued international tenders to purchase up to 120kt of feed corn, 40kt of soymeal and 35kt of feed barley. 

Tunisia’s state grains agency reportedly purchased 75kt of soft wheat in a tender that closed yesterday, at US$243-246/t.

US private exporters reported sales 132kt of soybeans to China and 121kt to unknown destinations during the 2024-25 marketing year.

Australia

Yesterday’s bids in the west were largely unchanged for new crop canola steady at A$755/t. New crop cereals were marginally softer with wheat at $357/t and barley $315/t.  

The east coast markets felt the weight of sellers and a lack of fresh demand yesterday. Values dipped a further $5/t and are now at 5-year decile 4 values. Grower tonnes continue to trickle out but the trade has been feeding the offer side in bigger volumes. With a warmer week ahead of us, it will put some pressure back onto the Riverina and Victorian crops lacking adequate moisture. 

This week’s line ups data shows 1.93Mt of total grain on the stem, marginally higher than last week, including 1.04Mt of wheat, 261kt of barley, 392kt of canola (+100kt), and 234kt of sorghum. Average wait times are low, reflecting low vessel numbers, with 5 vessels loading and 2 anchored.

LOGISTICS company Qube is optimistic about the prospects of its grain-trading arm, which has reported a revenue of $141.9 million in its financial results for the year ending June 30.

Qube launched the venture in December, and it has contributed more than 9 percent to the revenue of the ASX-listed company’s logistics and infrastructure division.

Qube managing director Paul Digney told shareholders that grain trading had already “proven to be very strategically beneficial for us”.

He said the quantities of grain traded in the first few months of operation were “probably better than expectations”, and that the company was “really confident” in the operation moving into FY25.

The company made the move into the trading space to make better use of its New South Wales grain infrastructure assets.

Qube started acquiring these in 2020 with the purchase of the Quattro terminal at Port Kembla and Agrigrain’s sites at Coonamble and Narromine, followed by the Newcastle Agri Terminal in 2021, and Viterra’s Narrabri Agri-Storage and Handling Facility in October 2023.

Mr Digney said the move would enable the assets to be utilised throughout the year, and also to maximise flows during drought years.

“One of the reasons we have done that is really to help us out in…medium to low seasons…to move through assets.”

Qube chief financial officer Mark Wratten said the business also brought little “downside risk” in terms of revenue, as grain was less volatile than other commodities.

He said, given the strong outlook for NSW’s upcoming harvest, the company expected to see revenue to more than double in FY25 for the grain-trading operation.

Mr Wratten said the company was seeing early benefits from the Narrabri acquisition, although this had  not flowed through into earnings contributions.

“Although these assets weren’t expected to contribute to earnings in any meaningful way in the short term they have been important for us in setting up our grain-trading business, particularly in regards to the containerised grain we are now trading,” Mr Wratten said.

Earnings, revenue up

Across the group, Qube reported underlying earnings before interest taxes and amortisation of $318.4M, up 13.6pc on FY23, and underlying revenue growth of 17.2pc to $3.5 billion.

The logistics and infrastructure business unit recorded revenue growth of 15.3pc to $1.548B and EBITDA of $309.1M, a rise of 8.6pc on FY23.

Mr Digney said these results were driven by high container and automotive volumes, which partially offset weaker agri-volumes and increased Moorebank Logistics Park start-up losses.

He said these lower volumes were a 55pc reduction on FY23.

“However, in 2025 we’re expecting to have a strong year for agri,” Mr Digney said.

“How strong that is we will know better in the coming months as we finalise volume commitments and terms with our customers in the short term.”

Revenue from the agri customers fell $78M from FY23 to $201.2M.

The unit now represents 13pc of the business unit, down from 20.8pc in FY23, with major contributions coming from container handling and terminal services, and manufacturing-sector and food-processing customers.

Moorebank milestone

The financial year marked the official opening of the MLP import/export terminal (IMEX) in May which Qube operates in a joint venture with National Intermodal Company and LOGOS.

Mr Digney said in July, Qube handled 24,000TEU through the IMEX and was “targeting for approximately 400,000TEU to be handled by the Moorebank IMEX in 2025”.

He said the terminal recorded an EBITDA loss of $4.4M in FY24, but was expected to be profitable on a run-rate basis by June 2025.

Mr Digney said the company was considering the future uses and ownership structure of the terminal.

“Currently there are active conversations for potential uses of the terminal, although no agreements…have been signed yet.

“In conjunction with that, we are assessing the right ownership structure for the terminal going forward, and that could include signed-down equity in this asset.”

New business acquisitions

Since the Narrabri purchase, Qube announced new business acquisitions, including the purchase of Western Australian container transport and logistics operator Stevenson Logistics; the Melbourne International RoRo & Automotive Terminal (MIRRAT); and WA transport, logistics and storage business, Colemans.

Integration of the Stevenson operation is progressing, and the acquisition is expected to expand Qube’s capabilities and exposure to the hay and agri-export market in WA.

As announced in May, Qube purchased MIRRAT for $332.5M, with completion expected in the first half of FY25, subject to ACCC and Port of Melbourne approval.

MIRRAT is the only dedicated roll-on roll-off terminal servicing the Victorian market, and features three berths, a 120-tonne gantry crane, 8000sqm of undercover storage, and two quarantine wash bays.

Qube announced the $119M purchase of Colemans alongside its FY24 results.

Colemans currently services the Security Sensitive Ammonium Nitrate supply chain in WA.

 

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A NEW $8 million national study is set to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from crop residues, to help the Australian grains industry accurately report its carbon footprint, with potential benefits for future market access and price.

An initiative of the Grains Research and Development Corporation, the national project will be led by Professor David Rowlings from the Queensland University of Technology.

It will involve two years of fieldwork to quantify emissions from crop-residue decomposition across a range of crop types, climates and soils at five sites in Australia.

The trial sites, and research-parnters monitors are:

• Gatton, Qld – University of Qld;
• Tamworth and Wagga Wagga, New South Wales – NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development;
• Horsham, Victoria – Agriculture Victoria; and,
• Wongan Hills, Western Australia – WA DPIRD.

The landmark study is expected to have significant benefits for grain growers and marketers, as the GHG emissions attached to grains can impact the price and marketability of exports, as well as the sustainability credentials of farm businesses.

Prof Rowlings said crop residues emit GHG as they decompose in the paddock, with nitrous oxide making up most of these emissions.

“Australia includes these emissions in its sector level accounting to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” Prof Rowlings said.

“While the global default emission decomposition factor is 1 percent of total residues, international research has shown that 0.5pc may be more accurate for dry climates.

“As this research has been accepted by the IPCC, the CSIRO – with GRDC support – is currently updating Australia’s GHG baseline methodology to use the lower emissions factor from 2024.

“However, with approximately 23 million hectares of land under cropping, Australian growers could still benefit by being able to use accurate, locally derived emissions data for IPCC reporting.”

At each trial site, nitrous oxide will be measured for the 12 months following harvest to obtain accurate data on the emissions from the decaying crop residues.

Crops being studied include wheat, faba beans and canola in NSW and Victoria; maize, sorghum, wheat and faba beans in Qld; and wheat and canola in WA.

“We have achieved a good spread of representative climate conditions, soil types and crops.

“Over the two years and five locations, we will gather 32 site-years’ worth of data.”

GRDC sustainable cropping systems manager north Cristina Martinez said the new national study was critical in that it aimed to generate representative emissions factors for Australian crop residues alongside region-based data that individual farms could adopt for emissions accounting and reporting.

This research builds on earlier work done by GRDC in partnership with CSIRO for the Australian Grains Baseline and Mitigation Assessment.

This 2022 report showed crop residue accounted for 20.4pc of all Scope 1, or on-farm, GHG emissions in Australian cropping, compared to fertiliser at 15pc, lime application, or farm operations at 11pc each.

This initial study also concluded that the use of internationally derived emissions factors may be overestimating reportable GHG emissions from the Australian grains sector.

Source: GRDC

 

PRICES for feedgrain have fallen by up to $25 per tonne in the past week as global markets sink under the weight of the Northern Hemisphere new crop.

Coupled with ongoing concerns about a lack of general rain in much of South Australia, Victoria, and the far south of New South Wales, the low prices have doused grower interest in selling on-farm, warehoused, and new-crop grain.

In the north, the season is one of boundless promise, and trade sources say a few consumers are starting to look for Sep-Oct deliveries to ensure they are covered ahead of new crop hitting the market in volume.

	Prompt	Aug 15	New crop	Aug 15
Barley Downs	$335	$340	$320	$340
ASW Downs	$338	$355	$320	$340
Sorghum Downs	$338	$335	$330	$330
Barley Melbourne	$320	$335	$310	$332
ASW Melbourne	$340	$352	$330	$355

Table 1: Indicative prices in Australian dollars per tonne.

Buying interest pops up in north

Prompt barley in the northern market showed the smallest price drop of any quoted winter grain this week, with tight stocks and some spot demand from the beef and dairy sectors supporting the market.

“Barley stocks are really tight, and some of the smaller guys are going to hand to mouth; dairy’s buying too,” one trader said.

Stockfeed millers and larger feedlots are also “kicking tyres” for September deliveries, as a soft close for the Central Queensland and Maranoa growing seasons will arrest the amount of new-crop grain hitting the market early.

“There are some spot buyers out there.”

Qld had only sprinkles of rain in the past week, which is no cause for concern, and northern NSW had little, with Quirindi on 11mm the highest total registered.

Central and southern NSW had some registrations of 10-20mm at locations including: Temora 18mm; Trangie 12mm; Dubbo and West Wyalong 15mm, and Young 19mm.

Softer market invigorates southern demand

Clear Grain Exchange general manager Trent Smoker said demand is being seen as the market softens, with ASW1 wheat trading at $310/t Melbourne port equivalent this week, down from $327/t last week, and BAR1 at $300/t, down $15/t.

“Published bid prices and trade values have generally continued to soften this week, although buyer interest in trying to buy grain remains robust,” Mr Smoker said.

“Generally, trading volumes are modest as sellers hold firm on their price ideas, while buyers are actively trying to buy grain.

Mr Smoker said 40 buyers have actively placed bids on both warehouse and ex-farm grain this week on CGX and igrain, in some cases, have stepped up to meet sellers’ price ideas.

“As an example, BAR1 barley traded $320/t Adelaide port equivalent yesterday, $20 above the best published bid.”

Watsons Bulk Logistics managing director Joel Watson said the northern Mallee was still relatively dry, with small amounts of rain here and there propping up yield potential for now.

Showers are forecast for Vic in coming days, but Mr Watson the crop remains exposed because of its late establishment.

“In the Wimmera, crops are about four weeks behind down there, and they’ll be relying on a kind finish,” Mr Watson said.

As grain markets fall, mixed farmers are running the ruler over their options for what could be low-yielding cereals selling into low-priced markets versus the relatively stronger lamb market.

Mr Watson said the lack of biomass in many crops could be what sees them push through to harvest.

“For a lot of areas, the crop doesn’t have the density to cross it over into hay.”

Concerns about the season, and falling nearby and new-crop prices, have made grower offers hard to find.

“Growers have gone to ground.”

“They don’t like the prices, and new crop has a rather large question mark hanging over it.”

Mr Watson said average rainfall for the closing months of the growing season could see Vic growers get an average crop, but dry conditions will clip yield potential.

In SA, Pinion Advisory commodity risk manager Chris Heinjus said much of the state’s crop was in a situation as precarious as Vic’s.

“We’re on a knife edge,” Mr Heinjus said.

“We’ve had a little bit of rain…and that’s bought us another week, but we’re running three or four weeks behind where we should be.

“Our production risk is still quite real, and there are some areas that probably won’t make it.”

While some crops in SA are traveling reasonably well, Mr Heinjus said overall the crop will be nothing to write home about.

“There’ll be a crop, but I doubt very much it’ll be even an average one.”

Some growers in south-eastern Australia have received handy rain in the past week, but those that missed the falls are crossing their fingers for what has been forecast.

In Vic, higher registrations in the week to 9am today include: Dimboola 17mm; Goroke 43mm; Murrayville 8mm; Nhill 14mm; Rupanyup and St Arnaud 27mm, and Woomelang 9mm.

In SA, some gauges got nothing in the past week, but others got handy falls, including: Clare 31mm; Cummins 15mm; Coulta 20mm; Keith 25mm; Maitland 27mm; Roseworthy Ag 16mm, and Snowtown North 22mm.

 

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PRICES for feedgrain have fallen by up to $25 per tonne in the past week as global markets sink under the weight of the Northern Hemisphere new crop.

Coupled with ongoing concerns about a lack of general rain in much of South Australia, Victoria, and the far south of New South Wales, the low prices have doused grower interest in selling on-farm, warehoused, and new-crop grain.

In the north, the season is one of boundless promise, and trade sources say a few consumers are starting to look for Sep-Oct deliveries to ensure they are covered ahead of new crop hitting the market in volume.

	Prompt	Aug 15	New crop	Aug 15
Barley Downs	$335	$340	$320	$340
ASW Downs	$338	$355	$320	$340
Sorghum Downs	$338	$335	$330	$330
Barley Melbourne	$320	$335	$310	$332
ASW Melbourne	$340	$352	$330	$355

Table 1: Indicative prices in Australian dollars per tonne.

Buying interest pops up in north

Prompt barley in the northern market showed the smallest price drop of any quoted winter grain this week, with tight stocks and some spot demand from the beef and dairy sectors supporting the market.

“Barley stocks are really tight, and some of the smaller guys are going to hand to mouth; dairy’s buying too,” one trader said.

Stockfeed millers and larger feedlots are also “kicking tyres” for September deliveries, as a soft close for the Central Queensland and Maranoa growing seasons will arrest the amount of new-crop grain hitting the market early.

“There are some spot buyers out there.”

Qld had only sprinkles of rain in the past week, which is no cause for concern, and northern NSW had little, with Quirindi on 11mm the highest total registered.

Central and southern NSW had some registrations of 10-20mm at locations including: Temora 18mm; Trangie 12mm; Dubbo and West Wyalong 15mm, and Young 19mm.

Softer market invigorates southern demand

Clear Grain Exchange general manager Trent Smoker said demand is being seen as the market softens, with ASW1 wheat trading at $310/t Melbourne port equivalent this week, down from $327/t last week, and BAR1 at $300/t, down $15/t.

“Published bid prices and trade values have generally continued to soften this week, although buyer interest in trying to buy grain remains robust,” Mr Smoker said.

“Generally, trading volumes are modest as sellers hold firm on their price ideas, while buyers are actively trying to buy grain.

Mr Smoker said 40 buyers have actively placed bids on both warehouse and ex-farm grain this week on CGX and igrain, in some cases, have stepped up to meet sellers’ price ideas.

“As an example, BAR1 barley traded $320/t Adelaide port equivalent yesterday, $20 above the best published bid.”

Watsons Bulk Logistics managing director Joel Watson said the northern Mallee was still relatively dry, with small amounts of rain here and there propping up yield potential for now.

Showers are forecast for Vic in coming days, but Mr Watson the crop remains exposed because of its late establishment.

“In the Wimmera, crops are about four weeks behind down there, and they’ll be relying on a kind finish,” Mr Watson said.

As grain markets fall, mixed farmers are running the ruler over their options for what could be low-yielding cereals selling into low-priced markets versus the relatively stronger lamb market.

Mr Watson said the lack of biomass in many crops could be what sees them push through to harvest.

“For a lot of areas, the crop doesn’t have the density to cross it over into hay.”

Concerns about the season, and falling nearby and new-crop prices, have made grower offers hard to find.

“Growers have gone to ground.”

“They don’t like the prices, and new crop has a rather large question mark hanging over it.”

Mr Watson said average rainfall for the closing months of the growing season could see Vic growers get an average crop, but dry conditions will clip yield potential.

In SA, Pinion Advisory commodity risk manager Chris Heinjus said much of the state’s crop was in a situation as precarious as Vic’s.

“We’re on a knife edge,” Mr Heinjus said.

“We’ve had a little bit of rain…and that’s bought us another week, but we’re running three or four weeks behind where we should be.

“Our production risk is still quite real, and there are some areas that probably won’t make it.”

While some crops in SA are traveling reasonably well, Mr Heinjus said overall the crop will be nothing to write home about.

“There’ll be a crop, but I doubt very much it’ll be even an average one.”

Some growers in south-eastern Australia have received handy rain in the past week, but those that missed the falls are crossing their fingers for what has been forecast.

In Vic, higher registrations in the week to 9am today include: Dimboola 17mm; Goroke 43mm; Murrayville 8mm; Nhill 14mm; Rupanyup and St Arnaud 27mm, and Woomelang 9mm.

In SA, some gauges got nothing in the past week, but others got handy falls, including: Clare 31mm; Cummins 15mm; Coulta 20mm; Keith 25mm; Maitland 27mm; Roseworthy Ag 16mm, and Snowtown North 22mm.

 

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AS RUSSIA continues to target Ukraine’s grain export facilities on the Black Sea, the country’s farmers have almost concluded their 2024-25 winter and spring-crop harvest campaign, with production holding up surprisingly well in the wake of an extremely dry finish that threatened to cripple crop yields.

Wheat futures in Europe and the US spiked last week after reports of a Russian missile attack on the port of Odesa rekindled concerns of grain export disruptions. The ballistic missile, launched from Russian-occupied Crimea, successfully penetrated Ukrainian air defences and struck the truck discharge bay at a foreign-owned export facility.

Fortunately, there were no employee or civilian casualties in the attack and grain stored in nearby silos, which is destined for the export market, was not damaged. Once it became clear that interruptions to the flow of exports due to the bombing would be minimal, wheat futures retreated to close the week lower than before the Russian attack.

As the winter and spring crop harvest draws to a close, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported on August 16 that more than 31.9 million tonnes (Mt) of grain and oilseeds had already been reaped, made up of 28.5Mt of grain and pulses, and 3.4Mt of oilseeds.

The total harvested area is just shy of 7.95 million hectares (Mha), with the wheat and barley harvests finished and the rapeseed and pulse harvests both 99 percent threshed.

Total wheat production for the 2024-25 season finished at 21.7Mt off 4.85Mha for an average yield of 4.47t/ha. This compares to last year’s harvest, which saw 22.97Mt harvested off 5Mha for an average yield just 2.6pc higher at 4.59Mha. The official agriculture ministry numbers differ slightly from
those reported by the USDA. In last week’s global supply and demand update, the USDA pegged wheat production slightly lower at 21.6Mt, but the harvested area was higher at 5.2Mha, giving an average yield of only 4.15t/ha.

Barley production came in at 5.5Mt off a harvested area of 1.4Mha and an average yield across the country of 3.93t/ha. In the 2023-24 season, total barley output finished at 6.11Mt off 1.68Mha for an average yield of 3.64Mt/ha, 7.4pc lower than this season’s effort. The USDA has this season’s barley production, area and yield at 5.3Mt, 1.5Mha and 3.53t/ha respectively.

Rapeseed is the primary winter-grown oilseed in Ukraine, and with the final harvest tonnes still trickling into storage facilities, the harvest currently stands at 3.4Mt off a harvested area of 1.23Mha. That compares to the final output from the 2023 harvest of around 4.75Mt off 1.6Mha. This season’s average yield of 2.76t/ha is 7.1pc lower than the 2023 average of 2.97t/ha.

The main winter pulse crop grown in Ukraine is yellow peas, and according to the agriculture ministry, output from this year’s harvest currently sits at almost 460,000t. This is off a harvested area of nearly 208,000ha for an average yield of 2.21t/ha.

Exports find a way

On the export front, Ukraine’s Prime Minster Denys Shmyhal stated at a government meeting last Friday that more than 2300 ships entered Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea in the 12 months since the Black Sea Grain Initiative ended and the Ukrainian Maritime Grain Corridor commenced operation. The export volume in that period was more than 64Mt, with grains and oilseeds shipments of around 44Mt making up around 69pc of the total.

According to the USDA, Ukrainian wheat exports in the 2023-24 marketing year, which concluded at the end of June, totalled 18.4Mt, thanks to a drawdown in stocks of more than 2.1Mt. Domestic consumption of around 7.5Mt in 2023-24 was also down around 700,000t compared to the previous year, adding to the exportable surplus. With a bare-bones carry-in of less than 800,000t and an expected jump in domestic consumption to 8.5Mt, the USDA’s August update put 2024-25 wheat exports at 14Mt, up from 13Mt a month earlier, but 21.7 percent lower season on season.

Wheat exports to the EU and Egypt, traditionally major destinations, grew by 12pc and 260pc respectively, and Pakistan became a new destination, importing 814,000t. There was also a spike, collectively totalling around 2.5Mt, in shipments to several smaller destinations such as Vietnam, Algeria, Lebanon, Israel, Tunisia, and South Korea. This volume expansion became possible due to a significant drop in exports to Türkiye, down from 3.1Mt to 1.1Mt.

Exports of barley in 2023-24 totalled 2.3Mt, down from 2.56Mt the previous season, with ending stocks
unchanged. Exports to China rebounded to 29pc of total shipments, up from 10pc in 2022-23, Saudi Arabia, a traditional pre-war market, was back on the buyers list, but consignments to the EU fell.

Domestic consumption increased slightly to 3.5Mt, with around 1Mt going into food, seed and industrial uses, predominantly malt for the brewing and distilling industries, and 2.5Mt going into stockfeed rations.

EU tops for rapeseed sold

Ukraine’s rapeseed exports in 2023-24 totalled around 3.7Mt, with traditional EU customers the leading destination. Shipments to the EU increased by around 6pc to just under 3.2Mt, making it the trading bloc’s leading supplier of the oilseed. An increase in Ukraine’s domestic crush saw it exceed 1Mt for the first time in 2023-24, leading to record rapeseed oil exports of 420,000t for the season. As a result, Ukrainian rapeseed oil is gaining a firm foothold across the EU and in key Asian markets such as China, Malaysia and Singapore.

Grain and oilseed exports in July, the first month of the 2024-25 marketing year, were 4.2Mt, more than double the same period last year. This included 3.7Mt through Odesa and 570,000 via Danube River ports, with China, Egypt and Turkiye the key destinations. The surge came despite the recent intensification of Russian attacks, very similar to that of last week, on the key Black Sea export hub of Odesa and the main Danube River port of Izmail.

The export tempo has continued in the first half of this month, with 1.56Mt shipped to August 14 against 848,000t in the same period last year. Rapeseed exports for the first two weeks of the month were 420,000t, already exceeding total July shipments of 411,000t. This compares to 670,000t for the entire month of August 2023 and puts Ukraine on track for a new record high if current pace is maintained.

AUSTRALIA’S peak cotton body, Cotton Australia, has been quick to respond to claims made by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program about the developing cotton industry in the Northern Territory.

In its episode aired last night and entitled Water Grab, Four Corners made several claims relating to the growing of cotton using unregulated and free underground water, and plans to build dams on leased land on which to harvest overland flows.

The episode included file footage of Tipperary Station chair Allan Myers, general manager David Connelly and his brother and Tipperary cotton manager Bruce Connolly speaking about NT cotton, and the gin at Katherine, in which Tipperary is a major investor, that opened last year.

File footage also includes an interview with former NT Farmers Association chief executive officer Paul Burke.

New footage showed several properties, namely Paspaley Properties’ Dry River Station, which the episode claims is growing cotton, and the Malcolm Harris-owned Ucharonidge Station, which is openly growing cotton.

“Malcolm Harris says the cotton crop is being grown for its seed, which can be fed to cattle,” reporter Angus Grigg said in the report.

Refuting this claim was veterinarian, environmentalist, and independent candidate for the seat of Katherine in the NT election being held on Saturday Sam Phelan, who said that cottonseed was only around 15 percent of the value of the crop.

“People are growing this for the fibre; the cottonseed is a byproduct,” Dr Phelan said.

The episode also claims some NT land has been cleared without a prior permit being issued, ostensibly for the purpose of growing cotton, and that while NT cotton is being promoted as a dryland crop, irrigation systems are being put in to support it.

While the episode mentions a number of NT leaseholders for their alleged involvement in cotton production, it is harshest on NT Government policy for its lack of regulation on land-use and water entitlements to date.

NT Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water Security Kate Worden was interviewed at length in the program to advocate the NT Government’s position on policy around the growing of cotton, and irrigation generally.

The program showed or stated attempts to speak with a number of NT leaseholders, none of which resulted in on-air interviews.

Thumbs down from Cotton Australia

In its statement issued today, Cotton Australia said it decided not to take up the opportunity to engage with Four Corners for the Water Grab program.

“In our last engagement with Four Corners, the Australian Communications and Media Authority found that ABC’s Four Corners breached its own Code of Practice on the issue of due impartiality and unduly favouring one perspective in a 2019 story on water infrastructure where cotton was a focus,” Cotton Australia said.

“Due to this and other experiences with Four Corners, Cotton Australia took the deliberate decision not to engage with them on this program given their past bias.”

That episode, entitled Cash Splash, aired on 8 July 2019, and looked at Federal Government expenditure on water infrastructure schemes in the Murrumbidgee Valley under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Following is Cotton Australia’s response to the Water Grab episode:

Cotton Australia is extremely disappointed at the conduct of ABC’s Four Corners program in delivering another attack on the cotton industry in last night’s story on cotton in the Northern Territory.

Again, last night, Four Corners portrayed a one-sided view of the industry, disregarded legitimate scientific research, made conclusions based on repeated claims by activists, promoted the electoral ambitions of a key opponent of the industry and irresponsibly raised alarmist claims about possible catastrophic outcomes and a devastated tourism industry.

The main claims are repeated below with the cotton industry responses to each allegation.

Claim: Unsustainable levels of water are being taken from aquifers threatening the Roper River, which may run dry.

Response: There is no independent evidence to validate this claim. The CSIRO has published its own report which contradicts suggestions the Roper River system will run dry. It is available here.

The chief executive of the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the NT, David Ciaravolo rejects the Roper River claims.

In communication with the ABC’s Matt Bran Mr Ciaravolo states: “I have been on the Mataranka Water Advisory Committee for the past seven years. And let me tell you, as an advocate for barramundi fishing and the Roper River, I have no fear that current or imminent water rules will lead to the Bitter Springs drying up, nor to the Roper River ceasing to flow. He says new water regulations have made and will make things better, not worse.”

Claim: Mataranka water levels are dropping because of irrigation.

Response: This claim is unsubstantiated. Long-term monitoring and assessments show that ground water levels are increasing despite extraction commencing in the early 2000’s.

Claim: A 10GL water license is being given away at Larrimah to grow crops including 800ha of cotton.

Response: There is an application which nominates several crops, including 800 ha of cotton and that application is not yet finalised. This is a matter for the individual grower and the government to determine, considering their stringent water regulations.

Claim: The suggestions about economic benefit from Cotton to the Territory are spurious with a questionable benefit to the NT.

Response: This year, around $38 million was generated by the NT cotton industry through cotton, with most of that money trickling down into the local economy. Transport operators, contractors and farming supply companies are already benefiting from that economic activity and additional jobs have been created.

Claim: The tourism sector could be put at risk by irrigators growing cotton.

Response: This is scaremongering. There is no independently validated evidence to support this and only 4.5pc of the cotton crop is irrigated with over 95pc rain fed.

Claim: Farmers are using pastoral leases to grow cotton when they shouldn’t.

Response: The regulator and the relevant Minister disagree, stating the practice is legal.  The pastoral purposes guide is available here.

Claim: The NT Government is ignoring scientists with their concerns.

Response: This is for the NT Government to respond. Note that most of the Board at activist group Environment Centre NT are also Charles Darwin University researchers, staff and students.

Claim: Indigenous owners are being ignored.

Response: The NT Government states First Nations people have a pivotal role in water access due to the high proportion of Aboriginal Land in the Northern Territory (both Land Rights and Native Title), and regardless of their Traditional Owner status, local people are actively consulted with through water allocation planning processes.

All pastoral development applications, land or water, undergo a public submission period. During this period all relevant government and non-government organisations can make comments on the proposed submission that the Consent Authority must then consider in their decision-making process, this includes ground truth visits from members of the Pastoral Land Board. All Indigenous stakeholders are given ample opportunity, like all others, to make comment through the same process.

Claim: Some growers have nominated hay when applying for permits to clear land and for water applications and yet they grow cotton.

Response: In some cases, growers have held historic and long-term rights and entitlements to enable them to engage in agricultural cropping and their decisions about which crops to grow can change in a rotational cropping system. Cotton has only emerged as a viable option recently and so it is understandable that some may have nominated other crops when originally lodging their applications.

Claim: The cotton industry sought a new category of water license regarding a practice known as floodplain harvesting (overland flow) with a view to the establishment of dams.

Response: Cotton Australia can categorically state that it has never sought to influence the overland flow policy and nor is it aware of any other cotton representative body doing so.

Cotton Australia’s facts about the NT cotton industry

• • It currently has 13 cotton growers;
  • 12,982ha planted, including 575ha under irrigation;
  • Water used is from existing water allocations that previously would have been used to grow other crops;
  • Any water used for irrigating cotton is from existing water allocations using groundwater;
  • There are 407 water licences for agriculture in existence; only nine involve cotton;
  • Currently there is no irrigated cotton grown with water extracted from a river or from wet-season flows;
  • At this stage there are no applications from cotton growers for wet-season flow water;
  • Around 0.01pc of Australian cotton is grown in the NT.

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A LOW-PRESSURE system combined with moist onshore flow, produced intense rainfall for several days across parts of central and southern Queensland and north-east New South Wales, with daily rainfall totals of 25-100mm between August 13 and 15, and 100-200mm in isolated areas.

The unseasonal rainfall across central and southern Qld and north-east NSW resulted in many sites recording their highest August daily rainfall on record.

Several cold fronts and troughs moved through south-west Western Australia bringing widespread rain, isolated thunderstorms and strong to damaging wind gusts.

Weekly rainfall totals of 25-50mm were recorded in areas of western and central Tasmania, south-western Victoria, south-eastern South Australia, inland areas of NSW including the north, a large area of southern and central Qld, and south-west WA.

Weekly rainfall totals of 50-100mm were recorded in western Tasmania, coastal and adjacent inland areas of central and southern Qld, north-eastern NSW, and coastal areas of south-west WA, with falls of 100-200mm in isolated areas.

Samuel Hill Aero in Qld recorded the highest weekly total at a Bureau gauge of 259mm, as well as the highest daily rainfall during the week at a Bureau gauge of 177mm in the 24 hours to 9am on August 14.

THE first of five workshops designed to help growers and consultants make better-informed cropping decisions kicked off at Dalby yesterday.

Entitled Increasing Drought Resilience of Broadacre Farming through Digital Support Tools the workshops were made possible by the Federal Government’s Future Drought Fund.

The workshops are designed and delivered by Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and University of Southern Queensland researchers.

“Our workshops enable farmers to come up with personalised cropping decisions that best suit them, through group activities and computer simulations,” QDAF senior economist Andrew Zull said.

“While winter-dominant cereal-cropping systems may have traditionally been used in many locations across southern Queensland, we have seen a strong increase in diversity over the recent decade,” Dr Zull said.

“Choosing the right system for your own circumstances is not driven in isolation by the prevailing rainfall pattern, but also influenced by labour availability, pest and disease issues, and the need to diversify risk across crops and commodities.”

Through the Agricultural Risk Management Online, or ARMonline, platform, workshop participants can access Crop Analysis for Risk Management, or CropARM, and the recently added RotationARM, which allows growers to compare different cropping strategies.

Dr Zull said CropARM and RotationARM enable growers to test out their theories about what crops and sequences will be the most resilient in dry times before they plant a seed.

Wheat, chickpeas, canola, sorghum, mungbeans, soybeans, and canola are the choices growers can select to model in a standalone season, or as part of a rotation.

The tools also allow growers who anticipate a wet season and plan to implement a cropping strategy that relies on sufficient water supply to estimate losses they would incur in case an unexpected drought materialises.

The workshops encourage growers and agronomists to apply the ARM tools to their own operations so they can draw their own conclusions and rules of thumb for decision-making to achieve drought resilience.

While the current season in Qld and northern NSW has drought far from the collective mind, it remains a major and long-term challenge for growers, who make summer and winter cropping decisions around some of the most variable rainfall patterns found in any of Australia’s grain-growing areas.

“We continuously develop the online decision-support tools of the ARMonline platform,” UniSQ’s Uwe Grewer said.

“The platform makes the complex research tool APSIM available to farmers and agronomists for on-farm decision making,” Dr Grewer said.

The point-and-click user interface is easy to use for rapid analyses, and RotationARM allows users to specify their location, production costs, prices, crops grown, cropping intensity over years, production inputs, and sowing rules.

RotationARM then presents results for key system performance metrics such as overall gross margin, achieved cropping intensity, water-use efficiency, soil-carbon levels, and surface organic matter cover.

Further analysis can be undertaken to compare different systems and intensities under different drought-exposure scenarios and identify what would work best.

“It permits farmers to analyse the yields and gross margins of alternative crop and management choices and see how they perform under average rainfall conditions as well as under drought.”

The digital tools are built on APSIM data, which factors in 60 years of climate records, and UniSQ’s Keith Pembleton said they are an aid, not a replacement, for grower insight and agronomic advice, when it comes to choosing which crops to grow, and in what rotation.

“Choosing suitable cropping strategies reduces a farm’s vulnerability to drought,” Professor Pembleton said.

“Avoiding drought sensitivity while taking full advantage of high-rainfall seasons requires farmers to design well-balanced cropping strategies.

“This complex task can be assisted by a support system of agronomists and our extension-focussed decision-support tools.”

Intense and frequent drought events often result in a loss of soil organic matter, reduced soil fertility, and less soil water-holding capacity, and CropARM and RotationARM can be used to help growers make better environmental decisions, as well as more profitable ones.

Upcoming workshops run from 9am to 3pm and are free of charge, with dates and locations as follows:

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