Commodity Conversations

This week Rob is joined by Lucy Gregg, General Manager of Public Affairs at AUSVEG.  Lucy joins us to discuss key challenges of Australian vegetable growers and other insights on the labour market impacting growers.

This week, Rob is joined by Brad Cavanagh, part of the livestock team at Oxton Park.  Brad joins us to discuss what goes into the Oxton Park livestock operation which received the honour of Gundagai lamb Producer of the year for the 2nd year running. 

Rob is joined by John Francis, Director at Agrista and the author of a recent AWI report into the profitability of specialised wool sheep enterprises.  John discusses the data, modelling and outcomes of the recent report into why there is a profit argument for staying in wool.  https://www.wool.com/globalassets/wool/news--events/2024/why-stay-in-wool-sheep/why-say-in-wool-sheep---report-by-john-fr...

This week Olivia Agar is joined by Erin Lukey - Senior Market Information Analyst with Meat & Livestock Australia (mla). Erin joins us to discuss the latest sheep and her projections and the drivers behind the figures MLA landed on. 

This week Rob is joined by Stephen Hill, National Committee Chairman for the Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee.  They discuss the changing dynamics that influence the forecasting process for Australian wool production. 

This week Rob is joined by Thomas Mugford,  Branch Manager for Mareeba, Tolga, Richmond and Cloncurry for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Far North Queensland.  Tom joins us to discuss the diverse opportunities and industries the region has to offer. 

Olivia Agar is joined by Mecardo Analyst Ethan Woolley to discuss the key market insights from the Mecardo Quarterly report. They discuss the stability of cattle prices, optimism for lamb and sheep markets and the challenges from the Northern hemisphere on wool and grain markets. 

This week Rob is joined by Stephen Bignell, Manager of Market Information with Meat & Livestock Australia. Stephen discusses the changes in the sentiment of Sheep and Lamb producers detailed in the latest iteration of the Sheep Producers Intention Survey. 

This week Rob is joined by Stewart Raine, State Wool Manager for Nutrien Ag Solutions.  Stewart and Rob discuss the finish to the 2023/24 wool season and the market dynamics impacting pricing and demand currently. 

This week Rob Hermann is joined by Michael Whitehead, Head of Agribusiness Insights at ANZ.  He joins us to discuss what the winter has delivered and key insights from the 2024 Winter ANZ AGRI INFOCUS commodity insights report. 

This week Rob Herrmann is joined by Cattle Australia Deputy Chair Adam Coffey. Adam joins us to discuss the ongoing work of Cattle Australia as it handles a myriad of issues that currently or could potentially impact grassfed cattle producers in Australia. 

Robert Herrmann is joined by Ron Rutledge, Nutrien Ag Solutions Livestock Development Manager to discuss the impact that the recent rain will have on the livestock market, and the news that is China removing import suspensions on five Australian processors.

This week Rob Herrmann is joined by Jo Hall CEO of Wool Producers Australia to chat about some of the major policy debates currently shaping the farming landscape including shedding some light on the proposed live export ban. 

This week Olivia is joined by Mark Tully, Global Market Research Manager for Nutrien Ag Solutions based in Calgary, Canada. Mark joins us to discuss the latest drivers for key inputs for 2024 and beyond. 

This week Rob is joined by Stephen Hill, National Committee Chairman for the Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee to discuss the April report for 2024. 

This week, Rob Hermann, Olivia Agar and Ethan Woolley discuss the key takeaways from the latest Mecardo quarterly report for Q1 2024.  to sign up to the mailing list please reach out to us through email: ask@mecardo.com.au  

This week Rob is joined by John Francis, Director at Agrista Agricultural consultancy to discuss his recent article (  https://www.agrista.com.au/articles-podcasts-tools-analysis/ ) and the key drivers impacting profitability for prime lamb producers. 

This week Olivia is joined by Andrew Holt, Senior Account Manager & Divisional Livestock coordinator with Nutrien Ag Solutions. They discuss the impact of the big rain event on the East Coast for cattle markets in the short term.  

This week Rob is joined by Mecardo's Senior Livestock analyst Angus Brown to give an update on the lamb job. They discuss the impacts of elevated slaughter and the return of the Middle East Bag Lamb market. 

This week, Olivia Agar is joined by Matthew Haddrell, Senior Agricultural Analyst with Beef + Lamb New Zealand LTD. Matthew joins to discuss how the livestock markets in New Zealand are shaping up in 2024 and some of the key drivers causing changes in the flock. 

This week Rob is joined by Mark Symes, Southern Region Wool Manager for G.Schneider. Rob and Mark discuss what is driving demand in the wool market with insights from key customers in China and Europe.

This week Rob is joined by Ripley Atkinson, Australian Livestock and Commodities Manager with StoneX Financial.  With cattle herds in Australia and the US a big topic of discussion, Ripley joins us to discuss the opportunities and key drivers behind the future US herd rebuild and the resulting opportunities for the Australian Beef Industry. 

This week Rob is joined by Prime lamb producer Charlie de Fegely who manages the Quamby property in Ararat, Victoria. Charlie, his partner Liz, and their sons have been innovative, progressive producers looking to maximise productivity and Charlie discusses how they've managed the last 12 months of the turbulent lamb and sheep market. 

This week, Rob is joined by Jessica Clarke, Market Reporter for Argus Media to discuss the Northern cattle indicators and how the season is developing for grain fed cattle markets this season.  

This week the Mecardo team (Rob Hermann, Olivia Agar & Ethan Woolley) discuss the key insights from quarter 4 of 2023 in commodity markets including the livestock market turnaround, freight issues and wool premiums.  To be added to the Quarterly report mailing list, please reach out to us on ask@mecardo.com.au