Here's A Thought

28/01/11 -- Our chums at the excellent Agrimoney.com carry an interesting story today suggesting that before the combines have stopped rolling and the mops & buckets have been put away, Australian farmers are already thinking about next season.

They may not be very good at winning the Ashes back, but even they can spot a golden opportunity when one presents itself. Unsurprisingly, they fancy planting a bit more wheat next time round, 10% more in the east of the country in fact.

Heavy rains may have cut quality this season but they've also boosted yields, and maybe more importantly replenished the water table rather significantly.

Now you have to remember that this season's say 25 MMT crop, comes despite a harvest disaster in Western Australia, which usually chips in with 35-40% of the total wheat crop Down Under. If they'd have managed a "normal" crop in WA this season then we'd be looking at a total Australian wheat crop of around 30 MMT this time round. And now they're planning on planting 10% more for next season.

And let's face it, the Australian's aren't going to be the only ones looking at the current wheat prices and having these kind of thoughts are they?

Go figure, as they say.