What's Hot in Farming

By Dwain Duxson

Check out the latest fortnightly Hay Report here.

We have spent a few days in Toowoomba at a couple of Hay conferences. 

We have caught up with lots of Farmers here, and confidence is still pretty high despite the higher cost of doing business. One Farmer I spoke to who is in the central Victoria area says they are going for their 7th "decent" season in a row if they can pull this one off.

On the Hay front, everyone is talking quality and the need for a good run this year so we can restock supplies with quality Hay.

I have seen a couple of graphs relating to the current good Milk and Beef prices and the relationship with better gross margins by using the best quality Hay. It does pay to buy the best, they say.

There was a rain event over the last few days that dropped some much-needed rain in parts of Victoria and SA. Don't get me wrong, things are looking very good, but the rain was needed to keep things on track. 

With that, we saw a little bit of confidence grow, and we are starting to get interest in Headers. Getting interest in Headers is a good indicator that the season is going along ok for many. 

The overall trends were Sheep Handlers, Tractors, Header Fronts, Urea, Spreaders, Sprayers, Bale Stacking Equipment, Vetch Hay, Augers, and Stainless Steel Tanks.

On the Grain front, we sold 3 decent parcels of Feed Oats at $230 a tonne, and Corn at $480

All prices are ex Farm.

----

This is what the sales guys said happened this week:

Shane said - I had an interesting sale last week of a Silo Storage Facility at Wellington NSW. They were 4 x 900 tonne Silos, which we had a lot of enquiry on since they were listed. They are going to Victoria to be re-assemble after the difficult job of pulling them down and relocating but talking to the buyers, the reason they were interested was the pricing and down time on getting new ones. Many were hesitant with the job of taking them down, cleaning the site and transporting them home, but in the end the need for storage outweighed the cost with a big yield predicted this season, all going well. 

Paul said - The last week has seen all the usual favourites ticking over through the site, with Machinery being the dominant seller. Hay gear has started to lift, with Rakes and Mowers seeming to be popular. The ever sought-after Chaser Bins are starting to get asked about. 

If you have anything that you are toying with selling, reach out as some people are searching while you are procrastinating, and not only will you be making money, you might actually be helping another farmer out. 

Mike said - Again, this week, a real mixed bag of items selling. Sheep Handling Equipment was the most popular, along with the smaller Tractors at the cheaper end of the market. Harvest gear is still moving. low-houred tractors are still selling well.

There is no real clear direction at the moment as the season lends itself to being a bit of a mixed bag due to Planting and having to re-Plant, especially in Northern New South Wales and Queensland. So the harvest could spread out between October to December. In these areas, many people are holding off until they know they will get a Harvest.

----

Keep those listings coming and see what else sold here.

End of message.