Agsafe Weekly Rural Report:

Finance:. NZ dollar eased again over the week & remains a very weak currency. Brent Crude continues to vary daily & is currently $92.89/barrel with punters expecting the Straits of Hormuz to be opened permanently very soon.

Wool: The wool prices continue to firm with growing optimism in the coarse wool market. The recent sales saw good cross-bred wool lift 6% on the previous sale..

Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: The meat schedules have firmed again for the coming week. The demand for red meat and protein are very strong with predictions that beef schedules will hit $10/kg.

Dairy Prices. The g/DT eased by 0.6% indicating a flat market. WMP fell2.3% to $US3706, SMP dropped 3% while AMF lifted 5.3%. There was a small volume sold – 14,364 tn. There are reports that if the Straits of Hormuz stay closed the farm costs could lift to $9/kg.

There are reports that the Australian wheat harvest will be down 50% due to Gulf crisis – factor that into the price of bread!! The major banks are releasing their prediction reports and the Gulf crisis features in them all as the continuation of the conflict will impact on diesel, petrol, plastics, fertiliser and international freight costs all pushing the cost of running a farm up. Spend wisely this week



Jim’s Weekly Rant:

I was at a meeting on Thursday morning where Minister Chris Penk spoke to us. He was unaware of the reset that the IPCC & UN have announced and referred to in last weeks rant. If they read the report there could have been $million saved from the re-prioritised ideology and available to help kick-start the economy. The budget was not the usual pre-election lolly-scramble and gone are days of sitting around the radio or TV listening to hear what incentives the farmers were given with special depreciation rates, special stock values as an incentive to invest or grow the business or the removal of a fuel tax. This years budget was more subtle with massive infrastructure spending that will provide employment in the medium term but benefit the export of agricultural products in the long term. The 4-laning of the highway from Karapiro to Piarere will be a major economic boost to the economy as transporters will operate more freely and have some massive fuel savings and lower repair bills. The improvement in the fuel resilience with the upgrades at Marsden Point is very welcome as we all experience the dumb decisions of the previous government exposing the country as a fuel-dependant economy. The investment of $400 million into upgrading highways will also have an economic benefit as safer roads will see less damage to vehicles and improve access around the country. Another $294 million is to be used to drive the changes in the Resource Management Act (RMA), but the changes need to be made with the knowledge that the IPCC settings have changed and is more than a tinkering with the existing Act. There is to be land purchased for a new hospital at Drury/Pokeno area that will service South Auckland and the Waikato and some rural police stations will be upgraded with the hope that some of the rural policing will improve. There is $477 million earmarked for upgrading the rail network and I am sure the $705 million capital for the railways does not include a rapid rail around the Waikato. Outside of the budget that government has made some significant changes with the most welcome change allowing only councillors voted to the council to vote on financial matters and the removal of the references to the Treaty of Waitangi from a lot of legislation and regulations. The changes to education have been well received as we look forward to children being able to read, write and do maths once again as these are fundamental to living in a modern society. The renewed school examination and testing system will encourage competition and betterment which we will all benefit from. Other initiatives have reduced the funding available for solar panels on Marae’s, removed the final years study fees payment, introduced a new banking levy that will eventually be charged back to us together with a number of cost savings through previous initiatives. Other recent government announcements that will cut compliance costs have been welcomed along with the proposal to restructure local and regional government, but there doesn’t seem to be plan and it will be left up to the individuals to work it out. And the long-awaited removal of voting rights for non-elected counsellors ensuring less delays and less interference is welcomed by everyone I have spoken with. Chris Hipkins and Chloe Swarbrick continue to fail as they have not produced any realistic alternative to get the country out of the current international crises that occurred on a failed economic policy of the Labour / Green government over the Covid era. Building new roads, hospitals, railways and housing will all generate work and income. It was a no-nonsense budget with no bribes, just some hard truths exposed and hopefully enough to get us all motivated to be part of making NZ great and prosperous again.

The King’s birthday honours were well accepted with Dame Susan Hassel’s honour being in recognition of the 1,000’s of young men she has educated through Hamilton Boys High. Many have become exceptional young men. Congratulations to Sir David Ellis, Geoff Maber, Keith Woolford and others from the agriculture sector, we are proud of you all and all you have done and do for the industry.

Contact AgSafe NZ Ltd - Phone 027-2872886. We can prepare your Work Safe manual and hazard management plan at a very competitive price. We can arrange drug tests and farm maps for your property.