By Robert Hedge

Barenbrug shared some exciting news last month with the acquisition of Blue Ribbon Seeds, Australian Premium Seeds, and Premium Seed Coaters. The integration process has begun, with Craig Myall providing an update in his part of this newsletter.

The great start to spring has continued and has presented some magnificent falls that have continued into the start of the Southern Hemisphere summer. Significant rainfall events have been the feature of the Eastern States, particularly over the past week or two. A low-pressure system that rolled over South Australia last week, also brought heavy falls to Victoria and Southern NSW. While actual rainfall totals fell short of what was predicted, the wet weather is expected to continue for the next week or two.

 

Further North, the story is slightly different. Far North Queensland remains dry, with Central Queensland only receiving patchy falls. The storms across the South of Queensland have been very narrow, meaning some farmers receive good moisture, while others 10km away receive nothing.

At this stage, there hasn’t been any sign of a Cyclone, however it is only early in the Monsoon season.

While the rainfall is welcomed in the north at this time of year, where the winter cereal harvest has all but finished, for cereal farmers in Southern Australia, not so welcomed with the Canola harvest just wrapping up, and the wheat & barley harvest about to start in earnest.

The local domestic markets remain strong, with some concerns remaining regarding cattle supply, for both domestic & international clients.

Again, demand for pasture improvement species is very strong, with summer forage options yet to peak. As mentioned previously, harvest for some forage and sub-tropical/tropical pasture species was delayed, meaning we have only received stock of these species in the last few weeks. Please refer to Roger’s "Tropical Supply Update” in this newsletter, for more detail. Please do not hesitate to make contact should you have a specific requirement.

Finally, preparation for the ISF Congress in 2018 being held in Brisbane from 03 - 06 June 2018, is well underway. The National Organising Committee have been holding regular meetings of late, to ensure those attending have a unique Australia experience.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for your support and business during 2017, and look forward to servicing your seed requirements in 2018. We hope that 2018 is a very prosperous year for all. For those celebrating the festive season, we wish you safe & happy holidays. All the best for the selling season ahead.

 

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