Northern grain markets continue to edge higher as dry weather concerns limit farmer selling in the south, as the focus turns to planting winter crops.
Nearby feed barley prices into the Darling Downs were $5 higher for the week to $268 delivered with barley up $4 to $295.
It is difficult to fathom that dry weather would be supporting northern grain markets less than a month out from the floods across areas of southern Queensland and northern NSW.
While southern Queensland and northern NSW received another round of beneficial rain over the weekend, conditions have turned dry further south. Most of the Darling Downs received 5-10mm over the weekend with 15-20mm across northern NSW strengthening from Walgett in the west to Tamworth to the east.
Weather conditions have turned drier to the south, where a lot of the northern grain supplies are now being drawn from.
Farmers have been planting canola in central and southern NSW for the past 10 days and will kick off with wheat later this week. Some are reporting topsoil moisture has dried out more quickly than expected and they will stop planting canola later this week and wait for more rain.
Although there is an abundance of subsoil moisture, farmers are worried about only getting a partial germination by continuing to plant canola as the topsoils continue to dry.
Farmer grain selling has almost stopped in Victoria where farmers are still waiting for the traditional autumn break. Southern wheat markets jumped by $10 last week as buyers step up efforts to secure more supplies.
Rainfall for May to July is likely to be below average for large areas of northern and north eastern Australia, according to the latest seasonal climate outlook by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Near term weather forecasts also point to a continuation of the current dry weather pattern across south eastern Australia through to at least the end of April.
A further strengthening in global grain markets also offered support for domestic wheat prices last week.
Weather also remains a concern in the United States where wheat futures rallied for a second consecutive week. Drought weather in the Northern Plains is restricting spring wheat plantings in the Dakotas and extending into the Canadian Prairies.
However, further upside to global wheat prices appears capped as export competition from the Black Sea re-emerges. After an absence of several months, traders reported that Indonesia bought two cargoes of Russian wheat for shipment in June.
- Details: 0428 116 438 or lloyd@agscientia.com.au
