AgWatchers

#120 Be profitable in agriculture

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Kate Burke, the principal of Think Agri and author of 'Crops People Money & You'. This is a huge conversation covering a range of...

#119 We take on diversity.

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When everyone thinks the same, nobody is thinking.  At AgWatchers we are a diverse pair, at least from our backgrounds. Diversity has been a big talk...

#118 Wheat to the moon

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A very quick update.  Wheat prices are up 13% since last week, or A$80. It's been a big week. We have a quick chat about some of the major drivers o...

#117 Livestock in sheep shape.

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with the newly minted CEO of Sheep Producers Australia, Bonnie Skinner. A lot is happening in the livestock space which has an impact o...

#116 The Cupid of Agriculture

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

He's done more matchmaking than tinder and match.com combined. We talk to the living legend that is Ryan Hoiberg (Rimfire Resources), the inspiration ...

#115 Government created black swans

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A quick update for the start of the week, as we debate the risk of government interventions in markets. Are government interventions good or bad, we l...

#114 Inflated interest in inflation

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Matt's old colleague from his currency trading days at ANZ, Dion Ciavola. Dion runs his own money transfer service (Forex Sport). ...

#113 What is in store for fertilizer pricing?

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to regular AgWatchers guest Chris Lawson, head of fertilizers for the analyst firm CRU.  In this discussion, we talk about the impact of Rus...

#112 Elections, Lumpyskin and diverse opinions.

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Gillian and Mark Fennell about a huge range of issues around rural politics, the cattle industry and the outbreak of lumpy skin di...

#111 Indian FTA, US Crop disaster? and livestock into China

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A quick market update on the main drivers in the livestock and grain markets. We spent the weekend.  Topics covered include US crop conditions, Indi...

#110 Should consumers be paying more for food?

03 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with the CEO of Egg Farmers Australia, Melinda Hashimoto. Melinda thinks that consumers have to pay more for their eggs.  In this dis...

#109 The end of an era with Malcolm Bartholomaeus

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We were lucky to be the last official engagement of Malcolm Bartholomaeus before he heads off into retirement. Malcolm is a respected analyst, and was...

#108 China coming back for barley?

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Just the two of us, as we provide a market update. We cover off on whether lamb is cheap compared to cattle, or cattle expensive compared to lamb. We ...

#107 My Journey from Kiev.

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At the onset of the Russian invasion, we had a chat with two of our analyst friends from Ukraine (Masha & Elena) on a live twitter space (EP102). We w...

#106 The Great Fuel Crisis of 2022 and Beyond

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fuel has gone through the roof - but is there a larger, more structural issue looming? We have a chat with John Blackburn AO, former Air Vice-Marshal...

#105 Three Wild Dogs

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Michael Trant, a farmer and author from Western Australia, about his new book Wild Dogs.  We chat about how a farmer goes from w...

#104 Fertilizer, Grain and Floods

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A short AgWatchers market update. We cover the impact of the floods in NSW/QLD on livestock, the action in the wheat market and the impact of the Russ...

#102 AgTalkback - Ukraine and Agriculture

24 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a live talkback discussion about the Invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We invited Elena Neroba and Masha Belikova, both grain analysts living in ...

#101 Economics 101 with the Kouk.

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with renowned economist and market commentator Stephen 'The Kouk' Koukoulas about inflation, interest rates, the aussie dollar, negativ...

#100 Ag Talkback - bringing the audience in.

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our 2nd AgWatchers talkback discussion. We start off with a quick market update on livestock and grains. Lots of data on livestock this week, on how t...

#99 An Australian first in podcasting.

12 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a bit different this week and a lot of fun. We are the first Australian Ag podcast to do a live stream talkback style episode over Twitter spaces...

#98 Spreading Fertilizer Information with Chris Lawson

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Seeding is approaching and farmers have to start making fertilizer decisions if they haven't already. In this podcast, we get AgWatchers regular Chris...

#97 Give us 13 minutes, we’ll give you the world

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A quick update on big drivers of livestock, fertilizer and grains. We cover off on the EYCI projections, herd rebuild, fertilizer 'crash' and grain si...

#96 Absolutely offal

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Want to set up your own butchers? We talk about our favourite topic, meat but with a twist. In this episode, we have a chat with former backpacker Ji...

#95 Living in the shadow of war

27 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with Masha Belikova, a grain reporter for Fastmarkets/Agricensus. Masha lives 200k from the Russia/Ukraine border.  A frank discussion about...

#94 Will Russia invade?

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A quick market update. We cover the impact of Omicron on Matt's health, processing and prices. Then off to grain where we discuss the major issue at t...

#93 Commodity Conversations

13 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the first episode of 2022, we have a chat with Jonathan Kingsman, retired sugar trader and author of a number of books on the commodity trade. We ...

#92 Bring on 2022

24 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's the end of another big year. We talk about what we think were the big events of Ag marketing during 2021, and what to look out for in 2022.  Thi...

#91 La Nina and unhappy farmers

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Hugo Boudet, an analyst from AgFlow, based in Geneva. We have a chat about La Nina, the EU harvest and why EU farmers aren't happy...

#90 Sheep shape and fertilizer glimmer of hope.

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The sheep flock is rising, and so is the fertilizer price. We've had a whole bunch of questions this week on both the state of sheep and the fertilize...

#89 The robots are coming for your grain.

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our podcast sometimes gets berated for lacking intelligence, so we thought we would bring some artificial intelligence onto the podcast.  AI is all ...

#88 Wet effect on grain and livestock

26 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A quick market update on the impacts of the wet weather on livestock and grains. 

#87 As raindrops say, two’s company, three’s a cloud.

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rain is impacting the supply chain in Australia and now Canada.  You might have seen the images in the press this week of Vancouver and the deluge t...

#86 Live from Global Grain

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a first for our podcast, maybe the first for any ag market podcast we record to a live audience in Geneva at the Global Grain conference. We chat w...

#85 Chinese military helping our market.

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a quick chat with Michael De Kleuver about what is happing in the wool market. We talk about how Chinese energy woes have impacted wool proces...

#84 A COP out

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a quick update on the markets. Topics covered include livestock, a moan about COP26, fertilizer woes and the harvest pressure on grain. 

#83 Sirloin or soy, T-bone or tofu?

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Queensland Senator Susan McDonald. This conversation covers a wide range of topics with a focus on fake meat labelling, climate ch...

#82 Geneva Grain Unconventional

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Swithun Still, a 'veteran' grain trader based out of Geneva with a focus on the black sea region. We talk through a bunch of topic...

#81 Sheep and grain update (kind of)

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

100% serious, 10% of the time. A quick update for a Friday afternoon.  We talk about the sheep yarding numbers being low, the controversy of sheep t...

#80 We Doug into Ag Data

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Doug Fitch, CEO of AgWorld. We cover a range of areas, from data ownership, connectivity, how Australia is too small for agtech an...

#79 A Bolt out of the Blue

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Steve Bolt, Corrigin wool grower, leader of the livestock leaders and chair of the WoolPoll panel. In this discussion, we introduc...

#78 Hitting the Neale on the head of AgTech

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a candid chat with Tim Neale of Datafarming about a whole range of things. Tim is a forthright speaker, and doesn't hold back on his opinions ...

#77 Meat and two grains

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A quick market update. We cover off on Canola for this year and next. The issues of a wet harvest and protein premiums. The rampaging heavy cattle and...

#76 VIC lockdown impact with Richard Riordan MP.

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the day that Victoria hits record daily covid numbers, we have a chat with candid MP Richard Riordan, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Reso...

#75 China to ban fertilizer exports?

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the day of China 'banning' fertilizer exports, we have a chat with podcast regular Chris Lawson of CRU about the fertilizer market.  We cover the...

#74 Biosecurity = national security.

26 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Andrew Henderson, consultant and chair of SAFEMEAT advisory group. We discuss the importance of biosecurity, and its impact upon n...

#73 Staffing crisis is not just on the farm.

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There is a labour crisis on-farm, what is often not spoken about is the supply chain labour issues. It is getting harder for businesses to get staff. ...

#72 The world is your oyster

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We love oysters, and we wanted to learn a bit more about them. So we reached out to Zac Halman the founder of Angel Seafood to talk oysters.  Zac def...

#71 Fertilizer, Canola and livestock update

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A quick update from us on what is happening in the market. We cover off on the situation in Canada with Canola, the rampant increase in fertilizer pri...

#70 The State of the Supply Chain

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we had a chat with Fiona Simson about the state of the industry from a farming perspective. This week we thought it was a good idea to delve...

#69 State of the industry with Fiona Simson

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Fiona Simson, president of the National Farmers Federation. A wide range of topics from China, fake meat to carbon/biodiversity tr...

#68 From Russia with love

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with Andrey Sizov of Sovecon and the Sizov Report about what is happening in his part of the world. We talk about food inflation, the downgrad...

#67 Word on the street.

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our final in our series looking at how farmers can buy or sell their produce electronically - we get the word on the street from Angus Street*, CEO...

#66 The carcass cutting crisis

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Patrick Hutchison (CEO of the Australian Meat Industry Council) about the meat processing sector. We cover off on the last-minut...

#65 Red hot machinery

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Machinery like a lot of things has gone gangbusters this year. We talk to Dwain Duxton of Farm Tender about the changing environment for machinery sal...

#64 A transparent grain market.

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk with Nathan Cattle of Clear Grain about the changing dynamics over the past decade in agricultural markets, transparency in the industry and t...

#63 Moving to the country with Simon Kuestenmacher

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The AgWatchers invited world-famous demographer Simon Kuestenmacher onto the podcast to talk about all things rural Australia. Why are people moving t...

#62 Wheat price starts to nudge close to A$400/mt

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A real quick one.  We chat about the USDA report and its impact on wheat pricing - propelling the market to A$382! We also discuss the potential lab...

#61 The politics of wool

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Chick Olsson about all things political in the wool industry.  Chick is an outspoken and straight speaking farmer, businessman a...

#60 Have a finke about it.

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Jackie Peacock, farmer and Cervus (John Deere) marketing supervisor who recently raised 20k for mental health charity through spon...

#59 The good times - Wheat at A$370, EYCI at 1000¢

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A lot has happened in a short period in the market, so we thought it was time for a quick market update. The wheat market has exploded. Livestock expo...

#58 Rusted on agriculture with Gabrielle Chan

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with political and rural journalist Gabrielle Chan about a whole range of topics from rural change and leadership to country politics. ...

#57 Urea for A$109/mt*

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our interest was piqued when we read about plans for a urea plant in South Australia which would have a *production cost of A$109/mt. We reached out ...

#56 A terrible year in Canada causes jump in canola.

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The crop is going backwards in Canada at a very fast rate. We thought it was time to find out what was happening on the ground, so we had a chat with ...

#55 Hay, how you doing?

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Corey Ryan of Johnson's about the hay industry. What is the market doing, pricing transparency & what's happening with that Chines...

#54 A Frenchman, a Scotsman and an Australian walk into.........

04 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with renowned ag market analyst Benjamin Bodart. We cover off on the canola market, the condition of French crops, EU barley competing ...

#53 FTA, EYCI jump and volatile grain

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about the UK FTA, the incredible but expected rise in the EYCI and the volatility of the grain markets. 

#52 Where is the fert price going, and are we in a supercycle?

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fert is going mad at the moment. We invited pal of the podcast, Chris Lawson, on to talk about two topics - are we in a commodity supercycle? and what...

#51 The big ag policy issues

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about the issues facing farmers with the policy manager at WA Farmers, and milk model Jessica Wallace. 

#50 Kerry Lonergan tells all.

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Andrew have a chat with veteran of rural media Kerry Lonergan about his career in agricultural reporting.     

#49 Trucking life

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Andy Jacobs, a livestock transport operator who had to quit WA and move to the East due to the instability of the live export mark...

#48 Westralia with Mae Connelly

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Mae Connelly about whats happening in Western Australia.  Topics include seeding conditions, pricing, livestock moving east, 1 ye...

#47 Are you bogged mate?

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Whilst us AgWatchers like stats - there is one stat that we hate, and that is rural suicide.  Rural suicide is 50 per higher in rural communities tha...

#46 Return from the festival of beef

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Agwatchers return from the festival of beef. We have a chat about our trip up to a muggy northern Queensland, and a quick update on the livestock,...

#45 Is Australia up to the grain export task?

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The AgWatchers have a chat with Nigel Hart (@nigehart25) about grain export infrastructure in Australia. Nigel consultants on a range of issues in the...

#44 Farming on the fringe

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The AgWatchers have a chat with James Stacey, who farms on the outskirts of Adelaide. Topics covered include marketing direct to the consumer, his Nuf...

#43 Canola to the moon, and the EYCI to sink?

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The dandy duo has a chat about the stratospheric rise of canola (and wheat), and we touch upon suggestions of a 50% fall in the eastern young cattle i...

#42 Fixing the sheep industry with Andrew Freshwater

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

AgWatchers have a chat with Andrew Freshwater about the sheep industry. Some topics include ear tags, consumer perception, traceability and mental hea...

#41 EYCI at 900¢ and the silly season in grain.

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A quick update on the EYCI hitting 900¢, copper as a lead indicator for wool and the start of the silly season in wheat.  Enjoy. Remember that shari...

#40 Welcome to the country 3/4's of an hour with Warwick Long.

09 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The new host of the Victorian Countryhour and long time ABC radio presenter Warwick Long switches seats and becomes a guest of the AgWatchers.  He ev...

#39 Is regenerative ag worthwhile? part 2.

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In December, the AgWatchers had a chat with John Francis on the topic - 'Is regen ag worth it?'. In this follow-up, we have a chat with Michael Gooden...

#38 Wool on the water

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat Josh Lamb, the founder of one of the largest wool buyers in Australia (Endeavour Wool Exports).  We cover off on container and logist...

#37 All things grain with Brett Hosking

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The AgWatchers have a chat with Brett Hosking, farmer from Quambatook and chair of Grain Growers Ltd. We cover off on two big ticket items: The World...

#36 Market update with the AgWatchers

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Meatwatcher and wheatwatcher have a quick chat about the markets. Livestock: Sheep flock rebuild & beef processor losses. Grains:  Grain stockpiles...

#35 Livestock, grain and FX

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Glutton for punishment Trent Osmond is back for more. This week we have a bit of a chat around African Swine Fever, Livestock exports and grains. T...

#34 Trainspotting and talking manure with Ryan Milgate

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with Ryan Milgate. VFF grains councilor and mixed farmer.  The chat is about issues with Victorian freight rail lines. We also briefly...

#33 Wool and cattle with Michael De Kleuver

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The ag watchers have a chat with Michael De Kleuver about our views on the wool and cattle market in recent times. We cover topics from the 'high' woo...

#32 The market update on livestock and grains.

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A quick update on a couple of major events in ag markets in recent weeks with the AgWatchers. We talk about the blistering EYCI, the decline of live ...

#31 Exporting animal welfare with Pat Coole

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

@meat_watcher & @wheatwatcher have a chat with Patrick Coole about exporting our strong welfare standards to the developing world. This year Pat was...

#30 Grain interventions, livestock exports and pricing 2021

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Government interventions, livestock exports and pricing 2021 Matt and Andrew have a chat about the big market news as we move into 2021. We cover off ...

#29 Is regenerative agriculture worthwhile?

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We have a chat with John Francis, former director of Holmes & Sackett, who now runs Agrista. Some areas covered : Is fake meat is a risk to real meat...

#28 Got milk? with John Droppert

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The AgWatchers have a chat with John Droppert the industry insights and analysis manager of Dairy Australia. We cover off on the seasonal update, dair...

#27 The fall in grain pricing, livestock yardings and the iron ore impact on ag.

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Andrew provide you with an update on the market. This week livestock, grains and the A$. If you want unscripted and independent updates on th...

#26 An independent view on the fertilizer market

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It has been a couple of months since we had an update on the fertilizer market. The fertilizer market is quite opaque, particularly in Australia. So w...

#25 The WA crop and sheep with Nathaniel

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Andrew have a chat with Nathaniel O'Hare (Prosper Agri). The topics include the progress of the WA crop and the recent moves by Qatar, which ...

#24 Barley into Saudi, cattle herd rebuild & FX

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Andrew provide a short market update on barley and livestock. We then have a chat about the high A$ with friend of the podcast Trent Osmond. ...

#23 Impact of US election on trade and our relationship with China.

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Andrew have a chat about the result of the US election and our trade relationship with China. 

#22 Livestock records and great times for grain

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

MeatWatcher and WheatWatcher have a quick chat about the record pricing in livestock, the great times at present for Australian grain (minus the rain)...

#21 Brexit & trade deals - the impact on Australia

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk with David Eudall, head of arable markets for the Agricultural and Horticultural development board. The levy organisation for farmers in the U...

#20 Market update (livestock & grain)

01 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A discussion about some of the factors driving the livestock and grain markets.