Argentina duties
ARGENTINA'S famously volatile politics have seen a spike in world grain values after the Argentine government announced extra grain export taxes on soy, corn and wheat.
This in turn is expected to lead to lower plantings of these crops as farmers look to mitigate the risk of lower profits.
The Argentine government is looking to raise extra revenue as it is struggling to meet crippling debts in light of depreciation of its currency the peso and hyperinflation.
Argentina is ranked third in the world for soy and corn exports and is also a major player in world wheat exports.
GrainGrowers southern elections
GrainGrowers has elected its five national policy group (NPG) members for the southern region.
The NPG determines GrainGrowers' policy positions and represent the views of farmers on national issues affecting the grains sector.
The five representatives that have been elected are:
Martin Honner, Junee NSW
Mark Hoskinson, Kikoira NSW
Daniel Keam, Wallup VIC
Kate Maddern, Kaniva VIC
Stuart McDonald, Canowindra NSW
"I would like to congratulate the successful candidates. I know each one of them will be bringing significant experience and strong interest in our industry," said Brett Hosking, GrainGrowers' Chairman.
The GrainGrowers NPG is made up of fifteen farmers; five from each of the GrainGrowers regions - Western Region (SA and WA), Southern Region (southern NSW, VIC and TAS) and the Northern Region (northern NSW & QLD).
The first meeting for the GrainGrowers National Policy Group including the newly elected Southern Region representatives will be in February 2020 at the GRDC updates in Perth.
Quality report
GrainGrowers has released Gains in Grains, a report that looks to answer whether Australia is producing the most profitable quality of wheat.
Wheat is Australia's largest commercial crop and has a farmgate production value of around $6.5 billion.
The Australian wheat industry is export focused with around 70 per cent of production sold to a wide range of overseas customers each year in a normal year, although this figure is lower this year due to the drought.
A decline in quality could result in lower demand for Australian wheat and potentially lower prices for Australian growers.
However, for growers it is also essential to see to what extent wheat quality impacts on profitability, especially when factors such as yield and supply chain logistics are taken into account.
Gains in Grains was research commissioned by GrainGrowers and produced in consultation with participants across Australia's wheat value chain and includes seven recommendations for the sector.