Agsafe Weekly Rural Report

Finance: The NZ dollar varied across the week and finished lower than the previous week. Our economy is struggling while the government is trying to talk-it up. Brent Crude is moving around below the $US70/barrel - currently $US62.09.

Wool: The demand for wool is increasing, and prices are firming. There is strong demand from China and limited supply.

Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: The meat schedules are continuing to increase with strong demand for red meat internationally.

Dairy Prices. The Pulse Auction is showing a slight easing in WMP prices, however the g/DT this week provide a better indicator of the seasons expected sales. The FGMP is steady & should be OK for the season.



Feed supplies are tight on many dairy farms as some early silage has been harvested and crop paddocks are sprayed out. The pasture DM levels are below the normal expectations and stock are having to harvest larger areas to get their correct amount of feed. The DM percentages are about 2.5% below target which is a drop of +/-15%, so in simple terms the stock should be offered an additional 15% until the DM percentages increase.


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:

International politics has been on most peoples minds over the last week, so here is my pennies-worth. Like him or loath him, Donald Trump has certainly turned the world upside down over the last year and the events of the last week have amazed us all. The master stroke seems to have been to have encouraged, and then managed, the many Arab nations to join in and support the peace proposal placing the success of the peace plan firmly on the leaders in the Middel-East. There are already calls from some of the Arab leaders for the USA to get tough on Hamas and follow the “peace plan” through as they don’t want to have to deal with the extreme Islamists themselves or have them flooding into their countries. I was again appalled at TV-1 coverage on Tuesday (14th) where they spent considerable time promoting the woes of the Palestinian prisoners being released from prison and failing to report that they were imprisoned for some serious criminal activities while the hostages were innocent people captured at a music festival and they also failed to report that there were no female hostage survivors and ignored the fundamental cause of the last 2-years of war. There is great hope that the peace will prevail and then there will be negotiations to provide the Palestinian people with a “Homeland”. The other hope is that there will be less protests in places like NZ, Australia, UK and many European countries that supported the extreme Islamist terrorist group that has vowed to destroy Israel and then all the non-Muslims throughout the world. And remember that over 50,000 Christians have been slaughtered in Nigeria by the Boko Harem and Fulani Islamic extremists in recent years with 7000 slaughtered in the first 7-months of 2025, so it is not just the Hamas who are on a crusade to rid the world of us infidels. The Trump deal in the Middle-East was successful because the USA did show their hand early on with the bombing of the nuclear facilities in Iran and the attack that Israel made on the Hamas leadership in Qatar. Precision and targeted attacks are possible and have been successful and it was not long ago that Ukraine destroyed some Russian bombers in Russia with drones – pin-point and targeted attacks is part of modern warfare. So, what is next, and will world peace be achieved? Both China and Russia are still confrontational with Taiwan and the Ukraine in their sights with them both claiming sovereign rights over the lands. Trump has shown his willingness to end the conflicts with targeted force if necessary. It is also interesting watching the price of Gold and Wool increase as gold and some other precious metals are hoarded before war and woolen garments become the mainstay of most fighting forces. India announced during the week that it will no longer buy Russian oil thus weakening the Russian economy which will make it difficult to pay for its war-machine – economic warfare is also part of the wider strategy promoted by Trump. China and the USA are scrapping about the tariffs and the trading of the “Rare-Earths” that are required for modern technology as Chine controls the majority of the world supply of these rare-earth minerals – more economic warfare. We do live in some very interesting times and if we read too much or listen too much to the news and the pending doom we might all give-up. I hope that this short overview and commentary may encourage you all to remain open-minded and try and understand what is going on the world as a new order tries to redefine how the world economy is trying to operate and how the global politics affects us all. We are not immune to the changes in the world here in God’s-Own!!.