Agsafe Weekly Rural Report
Finance: The NZ dollar firmed slightly during the week after the NZ GDP showed the country is out of recession, Trump’s tariff war creating international chaos. Brent Crude lifted again to $74.64/barrel.
Wool: Wool prices There is increasing interest in wool & some promising signs being reported.
Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: Meat schedules are steady across the board with a lower dollar and strong demand for red meats especially the manufacturing beef in the USA. Venison prices are good, lamb & beef schedules are OK.
Dairy Prices. The g/DT didn’t move which is OK, but there was a lower volume on offer. Butter up 1.1%, WMP +0.2% & SMP -0.4%. Fonterra has announced an record profit & next season is looking good.
Jim’s Weekly Rant:
Dairy NZ has released its forecasts for the 2025/26 dairy season with a suggested Farm Gate Milk Price of $10.13/kg milksolids and a break-even assessment of $8.57 after debt servicing. And Fonterra has announced it’s 1st half-yearly report with a lift in profit of 8% to $729m. These are encouraging numbers and indicators that the rural industries will have some discretionary dollars to spend. But please spend them wisely as two years of good returns in a row are rare. One area where you can spend wisely is in improving the fertility status of your property and professional advise and assistance is essential. I listened with interest last week to someone recommending the application of ground Basalt rock on to Southland Farms as a fertiliser to help combat Climate Change. We get all the adverts and recommendations from so-called fertiliser salesmen often with limited scientific backgrounds or understanding and some suspect research backing it up when farmers have some discretionary dollars to spend. Soil science is a complex science and most of us saw little use in learning the Periodic Table at school, but when applying nutrients to soil it suddenly becomes the number one thing we should have learnt. A retired farmer with a potion they thought worked on their property is not a sound reason for trying something different and even in a year of profit individual farmers cannot afford to run experiments that usually take several years of management and recording to complete. My simple advice is to contact a professional and there are independent soil scientists that can advise and assist. I find it important to keep in contact with Gordon Rajendram an independent soil scientist to call on when required. Gordon, like other soil science specialists, is able to ensure the nutrients are better balanced for the varying soil types and farming systems and can reduce that “hit and miss” philosophy that is part of our farming culture. Money spent on the correct fertiliser will add value to your business and look after the health of the pastures and the livestock. Soil testing, understanding the soil type and the farming system are all part of ensuring that the dollars spent on fertilizer is well spent as it is one of the “big-ticket” items on the farm and most farmers will have an opportunity to do something positive about the soil fertility status over the next couple of years. Autumn fertilizer’s should be planned for application now as it appears as though the autumn rains have arrived as they are necessary to ensure the nutrients are locked into the soils. Enjoy the increased incomes, but spend wisely and add to the value of the business with good decisions especially around the fertility status of your farm. The difficult part in spending money on improving the soil is that it does take time and a shiny new ute or tractor provides a better visual in the times of the good payout!!. The correct fertilizers will grow more pasture and improve animal health over many years while anew tractor will probably cost money!!