AgWatchers

#140 Ukrainian update from the ground with Elena.

We have a chat with Elena Neroba, a grains professional from Ukraine. We found out about how Elena has been going since the war started, what the feeling on the ground is, and the impacts on the grain industry. 
 
We also discussed the #GRAIN4UKRAINE campaign and why you should donate grain using NGR 15004442.

#139 No meatworks, no livestock industry

We have a chat with Patrick Hutchinson, CEO of the Australian Meat Industry Council. We talk about the issues around labour in meatworks, the media response to FMD, and free trade agreements that are in progress - and a whole lot more.  

#138 The Next Episode - what is in store for TEM?

TEM is no more, but the journey is never over. 
Today we engage in our next episode. In this chat, we discuss the evolution of TEM to EP3. Recently, we have agreed to take over the TEM website and rebrand to a new entity owned entirely by the two of us.Thanks for the support of everyone over the past two years and into the future. 

#137 When will fertilizer prices fall?

We invite regular guest (x6) Chris Lawson back onto the podcast to have a chat about the fertilizer market. Chris is the head of fert for CRU Group, an industrial and fertilizer analysis firm. 

#136 Fertilizer to the moon, Red meat in demand

A very quick discussion on the big drivers in the market. Red meat demand heats up, risk of higher fertilizer pricing and Putin helping drive grain prices higher. 

#135 Falling grain prices and rising livestock numbers

We have a market chat. Lots of livestock data out - FSR, Cattle on feed and sheep turnoff. The grain market has also come under a lot of pressure with pricing levels falling. 

#134 Counting sheep and singing you to sleep.

We are joined by Bonnie Skinner, CEO of Sheep Producers Australia. Our chit-chat includes discussions of traceability, the gov biosecurity response, Chinese trade ban rumours, our new intro music and inflation impact on demand. 

#133 You having a Raff? with Senator Ciccone

Senator Raff Ciccone joins AgWatchers for chit-chat. Raff has launched a senate inquiry into the government biosecurity response to FMD/Varroa mite, which is ongoing. 
We chat about food security, biosecurity, ag labour, FMD, diversity of markets and local manufacturing of inputs. 

#132 The Bees Knees with Dugald Saunders MP

We have a chat with Dugald Saunders MP, the agricultural minister for NSW. Biosecurity has been the hot topic of the last two months, but NSW is battling through its own devastating outbreak - Varroa mite in bees. 
In this short conversation, we have a chat about EID tags, FMD responses and what is happening with the varroa mite outbreak in NSW. 

#131 Calm the Farm

Just the two of us, a short podcast. We chat more about falling livestock pricing, why we need to calm down about FMD, grain/fert pricing and food inflation. 
 
 

#130 Ukraine Grain Deal and Falling Livestock Pricing.

Just the two of us. A lot happening in ag markets at the moment. The big news over the past week has been the 'deal' to open up a corridor for Ukrainian grain exports. We also cover the falling livestock prices in recent months and some discussions about a global downturn.
 
 

#129 Two long years of AgWatchers

It's been an interesting two years. COVID, FMD, invasion of Ukraine, a new Australian government, and so much more. Clearly, the biggest event was the start of the AgWatchers podcast, Australia's most amateur agricultural podcast. The tables are turned on this podcast as we enlist a professional for our 2-year anniversary. Warwick Long, ABC Countryhour, turns the tables on us as we have a chat about the past two years. 

#128 The Facts on FMD from the Chief Vet

We talk to Mark Schipp, the Australian Chief Veterinarian Officer. In this podcast we go through the facts about FMD (and LSD/Varroa mite). 
 
Are we prepared? Are feral pigs a risk? Do footbaths work? Do we need to ban Bali trips? What is the compensation? What is the risk? What are the controls in place? and a few other topics. 

#127 Road Trippin

Wheat down, canola down and cattle down. We are back from a week or so on the road presenting around the country. After we get over the first few minutes of meandering through what we learnt on the road, we cover off the big drivers of the livestock and grain markets. 

#126 The Presidents views on the industry.

In this episode, we recorded live from the stage of the VFF livestock and grains conference in Ballarat. We had a chat Steve Harrison (Livestock President) and Ashley Fraser (Grains President) about the big issues impacting agriculture from changing governments to labour requirements. 

#125 Flowing through the big topics.

This week we did a joint episode with FlowFM, a South Australian radio channel. In this episode, we chat about food inflation, labour, government protectionism and a whole lot more. 

#124 Getting our meat trade back

We have a chat with Andrew Henderson, consultant and chair of the SAFEMEAT advisory group.If FMD hits Australia, the impact could be $300m per week in lost trade, and your sheep/cattle will lose their value. Exotic diseases are on the border. We have a chat with an expert on livestock traceability to discuss, firstly what happens to trade if we get FMD, and the debate around EID tags (and the database). 

#123 Restocking livestock, China barley ban and ’opening’ of Ukraine.

Just the two of us, as we talk about livestock and grain markets. 
 
The restock in Australia, the destocking in the USA - what could this mean in the future?. We talk about FMD, as a risk factor to the grain industry, the 're-opening of Ukraine grain' and the two years on from the barley ban. 

#122 Day Zero for Water?

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” – Benjamin FranklinIn this podcast, we chat with Jay Famiglietti, a professor from the University of Saskatchewan, and former NASA chief scientist. This is a sobering discussion on areas of the world, that are at major risk of running out of water, and the need to be more efficient with our water usage - something Australia is already top-notch at. Jay is a regular commentator on the risk of declining water availability around the world, including in the major aquifers. He was recently involved in the Day Zero documentary and runs his own podcast on water.  Watch the Day Zero Documentary here, and catch up on the What about Water podcast here

#121 Carbon Dating

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about carbon markets, we wanted to chat with someone about it from a market point of view. So we had a yarn with Andrew Glass, of Viridios AI about carbon and ESG markets. Andrew has a background in commodity trading (grains, minerals and energy) and has switched to carbon. This discussion looks at carbon from a markets/economic point of view.