Commodity Conversations

Spring lamb supply picking up pace - 11th November 2022

It's that time of year when the lamb markets start to pick up the pace. Spring lamb supply is up and paired with constant wet weather, flooding, and public holidays the last few weeks have been enormous. In this episode, Robert Herrmann chats with Ron Rutledge about where we are today regarding the flow of lambs to market, what the road map is, and where opportunities can be found.

Market insights Q3 2022 – 4th November 2022

Off the back of our recent quarterly report, this week in Commodity Conversations, Olivia Agar and Robert Herrmann catch up to discuss the key trends and factors impacting our core commodity markets over the recent quarter.

Read the report here https://mecardo.com.au/reports

Wool weathering the storm(s)– 28th October 2022

Stewart is the Tasmanian state wool manager, with Nutrien Ag solutions, he’s worked nearly all over Australia, with 30 years’ experience as a wool classer, auctioneer and buyer. This week Stewart chats with Rob Herrmann about all things wool – from current price movements, export demand signals, shearing backlogs, Stewarts outlook for 2023 and more. 

Managing risk with cattle swaps – a new era for Aussie beef, 21st October 2022

While swap contracts have been a key part of grain trading in Australia for a long time there’s been no such option for cattle traders – until now. Tim Jude, livestock and commodities broker for Stonex  joins us this week to discuss the mechanics behind the new swap contracts, the wide range of businesses which can potentially benefit from it and how it’s being received in the industry so far.        

Unseasonal seasons – 14th October 2022

It’s a mixed bag of old and new season lambs hitting the yards this week and to help us navigate through the current sheep and lamb supply outlook we have Adam Mountjoy, Southeast regional wool & livestock  lead at Nutrien Ag Solutions with us. Adam’s insights from his travels around regional saleyards in south-east help make sense of the lamb supply story, processors managing the flow and opportunities in the market.

Macro-factors rain on markets – 7th October 2022

Volatility in agricultural markets continues to be the name of the game this year as commodities continue their roller coaster ride up and down. In this week’s episode Rob and Liv from Mecardo discuss the macro-economic factors weighing some markets down and what producers can do in the face of market volatility. They also discuss the current price difference between the sheep and cattle markets of late, and what we can expect going forward.

Iberian agriculture uncovered – 30th September 2022

This week we called in to check on Rob Herrmann who is currently travelling in Spain & Portugal. Although he’s on vacation, Rob’s been keeping a keen eye on the agricultural landscape in those countries and shares some of his observations with us around the similarities and differences with Australian agriculture. Grab your favourite tempranillo, some pan and enjoy this week’s chat with Rob, live from Spain.  

Connections in the saleyards - 21st September 2022

Saleyards are the hive of activity for many regional areas. For hundreds of years, they have been an important connection and community interaction point for people living in rural areas. Heather Ellis from BlueWren connections, has produced a report on the social value of the saleyards, an initiative of The Australian Livestock Markets Association, highlighting some crucial ways that saleyards support individual and community well being & health. Heather’s stories of the personal aspects of saleyards, combined with data from her research, give a great understanding behind the benefits they bring to communities as well as areas that they could improve in. 

FMD & LSD, a report from Bali – Friday 16th September 2022

The FMD & LSD threat is still on our doorstep despite not dominating headlines as it was recently. This week we bring you an ‘on the grounds’ report from Dr Ross Ainsworth about the outbreaks in Indonesia, the local response to the situation and likelihood of either of the diseases spreading to Australian livestock.

Dr Ainsworth has 40 years plus working as a vet with large animals, mainly in the live export business in Northern Australia. Dr Ainsworth gives a concise summary of the Indonesian authorities response to the recent outbreaks, the reality of the practical challenges facing them as well as the ongoing threat to the Australian livestock industry, with some advice for producers to keep on the front foot in terms of protecting their properties and the industry.  

The grains & oilseed flipside – 4th September 2022

The grains & oilseed markets have been on a roller-coaster ride this year with prices for many crops reaching all-time highs earlier in the year before recently settling back down to pre-Russian invasion of Ukraine levels. Nick Booth from Next Level Grains Marketing joins us on episode 200 to talk us through the reasons behind the volatility this year and what we can expect going forward.  As always Nick explains the key international market drivers for the grains & oilseeds complex in a clear, succinct manner as well as touch on local conditions here in Australia.