RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness Australia/NZ

Is the future of NZ farmers in the hands of the world’s central bankers? We put Michael Every, Senior Markets Strategist for Rabobank Asia-Pacific, in the hot seat. Tim Hunt asks him why central bankers matter, what they are trying to achieve, and looks at the implications of their success—or failure—for NZ farmers.

What does the future of China’s seafood market mean for Australia and New Zealand? Tim Hunt talks to Rabobank’s global seafood expert, Gorjan Nikolik.

New Zealand sheep farmers often hear about the need for the industry to add value to their lamb export products. What is driving this push for more value-add investment, and what can the industry do to add value?

Changing market forces in Asia and new technologies are creating new implications for Australian growers. Roland Fumasi and Wes Lefroy discuss the changing tide and how Australian farmers should take note.

Roland Fumasi, Senior Produce Analyst from Rabobank California, addresses the key global trends that NZ horticulture needs to be aware of.

The Australian sheepmeat industry has been performing very strongly over recent years with increasing production and increasing prices. With production forecast to drop slightly, what does the new season hold for Australian sheepmeat?

US cotton is holding centre stage right now, with big acreage and excellent conditions suggesting a bumper crop for Q4 2017. Andrew Tasker joins our latest podcast from St Louis, Illinois, to share the thoughts and concerns of those in the heart of US cotton country.

Michael Harvey takes the opportunity to get download from Sandy Chen on his visit to Australia to explore the China dairy landscape in order uncover the short and medium term dynamics for supply and demand dynamics. As a result, Sandy Chen emphasises some strategic considerations for the Australian dairy industry value chain moving forward.

Global milk supply growth is emerging from key exporting engines. The resulting exportable surplus will increase across 2017 and moving into 2018. The additional supply will be met by steady, if modest, global demand growth across this period.

What would an Australian housing market crash mean for the local F&A industry? Michael Every and Tim Hunt explore the chances of a crash, the economic impacts it would bring and how this would feed through to farmers and food companies.

RaboResearch analyst Wes Lefroy is just back from attending the Australian Farm Institute conference 'Harvesting the Benefits of Digital Agriculture’ in Melbourne. He is joined by Tim Hunt to discuss the key themes from the conference and the implications for farmers.

The Southern Australian milk prices for 2017/18 have been announced. Murray Goulburn has reverted to a traditional pricing model, while other processors chose to break rank. But is this a watershed moment for the industry? And how do local milk prices compare to Rabobank’s expectations... and to global peers?

Blake Holgate and Angus Gidley-Baird discuss the latest developments in the global red meat export market, and assess what this means for both the short and long term prospects of New Zealand beef and lamb.

While the hype around Digital Agriculture is high, farmer adoption has remained low. Wes Lefroy and Ken Zuckerberg discuss the barriers to adoption and the future of digital farming, and in particular the report ‘Bungle in the AgTech Jungle’.

Chickpeas are an attractive option for Australian growers, as strong Indian demand drives high prices for export. However, potential shifts in Indian purchases and domestic disease risks create an uncertain price outlook. Cheryl Kalisch Gordon and Charlie Clack provide Rabobank’s view on prices in the 12-month period.

Increased and ongoing volatility, industry developments such as objective carcase measurement and the marketing of specific product characteristics mean managing price, quantity and quality are now more important than ever. Forward marketing agreements provide an ability to manage these risks and need to become a more common part of the beef industry. This podcast summarises the report of the same title released by RaboResearch in May.

Disappointing cotton yields have spelt concerns for many Australian growers but, in our view, there is still much to be optimistic about. Wes Lefroy is joined by Charlie Clack to talk prices for Australian cotton in the 12 month period and beyond; a podcast to compliment Rabobank’s latest ‘Australian Cotton Outlook’ research note.

After witnessing softening international sugar prices through 2017, Andy Duff provides his view on the market dynamics that drive these movements and, most importantly, what’s in store for the coming season. Here in Australia, we come to terms with a challenging and uncertain 2017 for many growers.

With NZ’s 2016/17 wine grape harvest complete, Marc Soccio assesses the impact of adverse weather on quantity and quality. Marc also looks at the health of key export markets, and addresses the need for grape growers and processors/marketers to align in order to maximise the chances of success in coming years.

Tim Hunt and Michael Harvey take a close look at developments in the Australian dairy sector over the past month—including a look at the outcome of the much-awaited operational review by Murray Goulburn, and what it means for shareholders and suppliers. They also digest Fonterra’s early price signal for 2017/18 and see whether it is in line with Rabobank’s expectations.