Darling Downs farmers are reporting good sorghum yields as the harvest rolls on but they are anxious for more rain for later planted crops as well as get started on winter cropping activities.
Later planted sorghum crops are still holding on well despite the recent hot, dry conditions were they have endured upwards of 40 days without any meaningful rainfall.
Sorghum yields have improved as the harvest as sorghum harvest has progressed. Many farmers are now saying crops are exceeding 5 tonnes per hectare compared to the patchy yields in earlier harvest crops.
But the combination of good yields and lacklustre demand continues to weigh on prices. Last week sorghum bids into the Darling Downs dropped by $5 to $210 delivered which is the lowest for the season. Feed wheat fared a little better with prices falling by $2 last week to $252 delivered Downs markets while feed barley was unchanged at $222.
Sluggish export demand for sorghum is taking the gloss of what has been a relatively good season. Exporters have been reluctant buyers of sorghum as they struggle to get sales on, with some of last year’s major shippers into China, off the pace with their prices.
Major grain storage companies appear to be leading the pack with their sorghum prices.
Slow demand from China, which accounted for upwards of 90 per cent of last year’s exports, remains a major concern for sorghum prices.
Continued strength in the Australia dollar, which rallied above 76 cents for the first time in nine months last week, also remains a worry.
Southern Queensland farmers are keen to see some general rain to get started on the 2016 winter cropping program. More often than not, early planted crops are outperforming later plantings where farmers take a more conservative view on the potential frost risk.
Last year’s excellent performance from the early planted crops has also buoyed farmer attitudes to getting crops in earlier rather than later.
This trend to plant winter cereals earlier to avoid the risks of a dry finish and run the risk of late frosts has been mirrored across Australia in the past decade and more.
International wheat markets were softer last week after the government weather forecaster said the major US wheat areas would receive average to above average precipitation through spring.
This favourable weather forecast served as a reminder that the world remains amply supplied with wheat and rallies will depend on the emergence of some significant weather problems in key production areas.
