AgWatchers

AgWatchers+ EP2

In conjunction with AuctionsPlus, AgWatchers are providing a fortnightly update on the drivers of the main agricultural markets in Australia. This week, we focus on cattle, sheep and wheat. 
Grain pricing impacted by black sea conflict, and frost in Australia. Sheep yardings have increased in line with seasonal expectations. Cattle market trending sideways with strong US demand.
To make this podcast possible, our friends at AuctionsPlus are powering this segment of the Agwatchers podcast. 
Remember to support the sponsor of this segment by subscribing by clicking here: AuctionsPlus
 
 

What's happening with the grain trade?

We have Adam Clarke on to have a chat about the grain market. We cover off on grain quality, Chinese trade, local trade, ISCC and sustainability and a whole lot more. 

Zeitgeist 1 - Rally, cheese and Ag chemicals

Zeitgeist : the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an eraOn the Agwatchers podcast, we are never fearful of failure and trying new things. As a pair, we go through the news each day and discuss what is happening. We thought, why not record it?So regularly, we will each choose a news topic to have a yarn about and give our views on, and we will select one together. In this podcast we chat about the dairy industry, ag chemical issues and the national ag rally. 

Would you like a beer?

We have a chat with Christian Norgard. Andrew used to work with him, and he still agreed to come on the podcast for a chitchat. Christian works for Pure Grain. Pure grain are an interesting business which farms, researches and deals heavily in the malt industry. 
This wide-ranging discussion includes traceability, zero-alcohol beer, barley breeding and global markets. They are also running field day next week, where you can probably get yourself a few barley based drinks - register here

AgWatchers+ EP1

Our podcasts are generally interviews with guests, and we have probably been neglecting market updates. On a fortnightly basis, we will now be providing an independent update on Australian agricultural markets. To make this possible, our friends at AuctionsPlus are powering this segment of the Agwatchers podcast. 
In this podcast, we chat about the cattle, grain and sheep markets. 
Remember to support the sponsor of this segment by subscribing by clicking here: AuctionsPlus

Hoiberg Tangent: New labour laws and redundancies in ag.

We have a chat with Agwatchers semi-regular guest Ryan/Chris Hoiberg about what is happening in the ag job space. We touch upon redundancies occurring and the tightening market.The news of labour policy, which will impact how you can contact employees out of hours have many people concerned. We break this down., 

The climate of the farmers

On the Agwatchers podcast we have spoken to most of the farmer representative groups in Australian agriculture. In this podcast we have on the relatively new organisation Farmers for Climate Action, who have 8000+ members. 
 
We cover a wide range of topics in this podcast from climate change to communism. 

Election, Paraquat, break dancing and more

We had a chat with Shona Gawal, CEO of Grain Growers Limited. This wide-ranging discussion includes the Olympics, breakdancing, Star Wars, paraquat, the election and a whole lot more. 

AgTechWatchers: Reducing paperwork, cybersecurity and misinformation in AG

We have a chat with Marcus Pollock, GM of Agrinous. This company do all the background work for saleyards and agents to reduce the amount of paperwork in the livestock trading space. 
We chat about cloud risks, connectivity, and data management in this conversation. We then get into an interesting discussion on misinformation in social media. 

The farmer with many hats

We have a chat with renowned Esperance farmer Mic Fels. Over the years, Mic has expanded his farm, set up a software and machinery implement company, advocated for Australian agriculture, and is now running for preselection in the Swan electorate. 
 
We have a good chat about a range of topics from small business to advocacy. 

Inheriting problems and solutions.

We have a chat with Gillian Fennell aka Stationmum101. She has a range of roles in agriculture. In this podcast, we discuss succession, which seems to be a major issue in farming communities. 
If you are going through this process, you might get some insights. 

AgTechWatchers: He's a funghi

We have a chat with Guy Webb, the founder of Loam Bio. In this podcast, we learn about adding fungal spores along with your seed to increase carbon in soils. This was an interesting chat with a lot of puns. 
This is a novel technology that hopes to add carbon but also increase yields. A must-have listen if you are growing crops. 

Don't be a careless farmer, or you might end up in a crop of trouble

In this podcast we have a chat with Stevi Howdle, the executive office of Farmsafe Australia. It is farm safety week, and we have a chat about the importance of safety on farm, why there are so many accidents, and what causes the arguments. 
 
You can follow them on twitter/x at @farmsafeaust or visit farmsafe.org.au

The Agwatchers find love.........

A bit more of a lighthearted topic this week. We chat to Mia Ryan, the founder of Howdy. Howdy is a dating app like tinder or grindr but is designed for people in regional areas. If you want tips on dating, Matt and Andrew give their advice. We also discussed red and beige flags, situationships, catfishing, polyamory, wearing crocs on a first date, and a lot more. It's a good, fun episode, and if you are single (or cheating), you should consider getting on the Howdy app. 

Going viral in agriculture

We have a chat with award-winning Mandy Matthews, AKA rattle ya dags.  Mandy works in the sheep industry in Western Australia, both on farms and livestock vessels. 
She was recently the winner of a services to industry award. 
We talk about a range of topics, life on a boat, will the boats come back, campaigning for live export and a whole lot more. 

The final end for live sheep exports?

Overnight, the senate voted through the bill to ban live sheep exports from Australia. In May 2028, there will be no more sheep going via boat. 
In this podcast, we thought we would have a chat among ourselves about a range of topics: where prices will go, the plan B, changing the government, the timeframe for a ban and a lot more. 
If you are struggling with the impact of this phase out, remember there are people you can chat to. Feel free to contact us, if you need a yarn or to vent. 

Senate decisions, livestock prices doubling and grain prices crashing

A quick market update from the two of us. We have a chat about the live export bill going through the senate, the livestock market, grain market and urea imports being record high. 

Colin Bettles: Robots, peak body funding, chemicals and a lot more.

We have a chat with Colin Bettles, CEO of Grain Producers Australia. We chat about the funding of peak bodies (follow on from Emma Germano podcast), autonomous vehicles in ag, chemical regulation and a whole lot more.  

The onus is on you to count carbon on farm.

We have a chat with Will Onus, co-founder of Ruminati. We have a chat about baselines for emissions reporting, and what is going to be happening in this space in the coming years. You might be opposed to carbon accounting etc, but it is coming, so a worthwhile listen for Australian farmers. 

Court cases, peak body funding and the VFF

We had a long discussion with Emma Germano, the outgoing president of the Victorian Farmers Federation. In this podcast, we discuss the events of the VFF over the past year, including three court cases. 
In breaking news, Emma tells us that she is canceling the VFF funding of several peak bodies. Remember, the AgWatchers podcast is an unbiased platform. If you want to come on for a chat, get in touch.