Agsafe Weekly Rural Report
Finance: The NZ dollar was firm over the week following recent disastrous financial results. There are ongoing reports of businesses that are hurting especially the hospitality business. Brent Crude is moving around below the $US70/barrel - currently $US65.42.
Wool: The Australians are struggling to supply the demand for wool into China. NZ prices are also firming which is a positive sign.
Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: The meat schedules are trending upwards as the spring grass market comes along and buyers vie for supply. There is strong demand for red meat internationally.
Dairy Prices. The g/DT Pulse auction is continuing to record a decline in WMP prices which is of concern, however the weaker NZ dollar will boost prices in NZ dollar terms. Do your homework regarding the sale of the Brand’s and while the money might be good now, the Coop hopefully has a few more generations to support!!! Tatua’s seasons final is $12.30 after a $1.55 retention.
It is important to have the farm bikes serviced & checked as they have probably had a hard time over the last few months with calving & the inclement weather conditions. The tractors need to be checked before the harvest season starts &/or cropping gets underway. It is bird nesting season and tractor motors are always attractive to the birds – leave the bonnet up & check before starting the engine.
Quote: “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”
Need Help. If at any time you just want to talk & need someone to talk to, just call - Male Support Services (Waikato) 0800-677-289, or Rural Support Trust 0800-787-245. Crisis TXT – HELP (4357). A shared problem can be a problem solved!!
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:
On Wednesday the government announced a policy headed “Securing NZ’s Energy Future”. It is more like a virtual signaling release that will require additional releases to become effective. It looks like they have borrowed the announcement about the announcement from the last Labour government, and that was always considered bad policy. The only real part of the announcement was advising the generation companies, that the government owns a 51% share in them and that they were OK for these companies to borrow money to develop new generation capacity. They hinted at offshore wind turbines and thought that an LNG terminal could be a good idea, but they still won’t mention the word nuclear which is where the rest of the world is heading. Nuclear is the only long-term solution to provide stable low-cost power as the power demands increase with increasing use of AI and all things electric. The nuclear power conversation needs to start right now!! The reality is, we need more generation capacity and the country cannot wait 20 years to get the “fast track” support and accept the NZ construction industry slow delivery times. It is clear that we need a large coal-fired power station immediately that has to be in the Huntly region near the coal reserves and a large source of water while at the same time a mid-sized nuclear plant should be under construction somewhere readily accessible to Auckland. The power shortage has forced power prices up and closed many industries, especially those based around forestry and paper processing in the central North Island. The country must ensure that there are no more closures and that some industries are encouraged to come back - perhaps our government needs to impose some Trump like tariffs on imported goods to fund the redevelopment of some of the lost industries. My simple questions are: 1. Why develop a LNG (Liquid Nitrogen Gas) import facility when there is ample gas around NZ and all that is needed is the exploration processes to be ramped up. 2. Why, even think about offshore wind turbines when other countries are banning them as they disrupt the sea life both in the water and in the air above. 3. Why develop large solar farms when there are signs of them failing overseas and the generation capacity is well below the industries expectation and of course they cover highly productive farmland removing the land from production forever. NZ has large reserves of coal, large fields of untapped geo-thermal steam, extensive oil and gas fields offshore and some great stable land areas for nuclear power plants. If the generation companies are honest about longevity, safety, generation capacity and the long-term cost of power they will be approaching their 51% shareholder to seek approval for a nuclear plant in NZ. The nuclear discussion needs to start and inform the people of the truth without fear of a nuclear holocaust and that might require the government to sacrifice some political goodwill to save the country in the long term.