Agsafe Weekly Rural Report

Finance: The NZ exchange rates were steady over the week finishing on a par with the previous week. Brent Crude remains steady below $70/barrel. Watch your fuel prices!!

Wool: Wool prices are steady but at a low unsustainable level.

Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: Meat schedules are mostly steady to slightly firmer with strong international demand for grass fed red meats. I am aware of some early lamb contracts offered at $10+/kg for 18 kg lambs pre-Christmas.

Dairy Prices. The g/DT dropped 4.1% with WMP down 5.1% to $US3859/tn. The index is still 15.7% above the same time last year and the same sale date last year experienced a 6.9% drop. Increased volumes on offer and seasonal movements are nothing to panic about.

Staff meetings are essential on all farms. Take time even in the busiest weeks to keep the staff meeting appointment. The 1-hour meeting can save time later on in the week as pressure points are discussed & management plans put in place to overcome them. Make sure everyone is OK with the work roster over calving & lambing & duties are shared.

You can hear us live on the radio on Monday morning at 7.35 am with Brian Kelly on Country Sport Breakfast – Radio NZ Gold AM. 792 AM in the Waikato & 1332 AM in Auckland.

Jim’s Weekly Rant:

I have been putting off commentary on the geopolitical situation and the influence the USA, and in particular Donald Trump, is having on it. It is almost impossible to understand the situation when there are so many news versions that are “all correct” yet at odds with the others. The polarization that is obvious between groups of people within countries is in my opinion becoming the divisive driver of tensions and hatred. However, our own lives and circle of acquaintances is a microcosm of the world order. I was appalled seeing the TV footage of the Glastonbury festival promoting the death of the Israeli defense force and the annihilation of the Jews while at the same time supporting the terrorist groups in Gaza. Just because you may oppose one regime in favour of another there is no call in the 21st century to promote death of others or the annihilation of a nation. Trumps bombing of the nuclear sites in Iran must be seen as a threat to others that he (Trump) will act if pushed. I believe we all hope for a peaceful negotiated settlement and we know negotiations break down when one of the negotiating parties has demands that are beyond reasonable or they are only paying “lip-service” to the negotiations. Anyone who has been involved in negotiating a settlement, no matter how small, will know that this the reality. So where are we now? Putin doesn’t want to be seen as losing Ukraine and Zelenski appears as stubborn as Putin. Israel wants the hostages back and Hamas is losing its support from Iran that has its own issues to manage. China believes Taiwan is part of China. Iran says it can still develop nuclear weapons and the USA strike was ineffective. Iran is mates with Pakistan and Russia who have nuclear weapons. Russia has experienced a mass destruction of its nuclear capable bomber fleet. All this is happening while Trump is renegotiating tariffs in an international trade war that successfully secured military support from NATO requiring it to increase its defense spending. It is like a massive game of chess with moves that no one has seen before with outcomes that are unknown. All we can do is try and understand what is going on and hope that the outcomes create peace and stability. But we need to start at home by reuniting our own country, getting rid of the divisions in society and seeking strong leadership. Whether you like Trump or not, he is prepared to make decisions and act and one of my favourite comments is “You never make a wrong decision, but sometimes you have to make another decision very quickly, and perhaps that is where some of the world leaders are right now!!” Only history will tell the world whether the bombing in Iran was the right thing to do, or the drone attacks on the Russian air force was, or even if the bottom-line demand for the return of the hostages is the correct stand to take. But we do know that making a decision and acting is often better than veiled threats and inaction. Make sure you get your news updates from more than one source and keep an open mind as the world leaders maneuver around the “chess board” because it affects us all every day.