Mecardo Blog

In recent weeks Lempriere Grain went into administration, taking with it debts of A$18.8m. This is not the first grain company to fold and will not be the last.

We felt like it was an opportune time to revisit counterparty risk in light of recent industry rumours of a number of grain traders at risk.

Is counterparty risk a major issue, and how can you protect against it?

The Commodity Conversations podcast has been running for the past month and we think they are great to listen to when in the tractor or on the commute.

In this update we provide you with a recap of our recent episodes.

In this series of blog articles, we’re taking a look back at the year that was for agricultural commodities and provide our insight for the year ahead.

This installment highlights 2018’s key movements in grain markets and what to keep your eye on in 2019.

As a serious professional farmer in 2019 it is well understood that “best practice” means you take care of your land, you take care of your animals/crops and you are economically astute. 

Despite that it doesn't matter what you or the industry believes is appropriate. We live in an era of ‘Social Licence’ where the opinion of the ill or under informed has the capacity to determine the future of your farm and its practices.

In this article I take a look at some risks related to the pursuit of social licence.

We inhabit a world of outrage, which has only been amplified by the ability to generate considerable 'noise' on social media. It can seem like agriculture is under constant threat from campaigners with various outrages or causes. 

In this opinion piece we look at the data on public (not activist) interest in several controversial agricultural topics and we will provide some ideas on how we should use the fickle nature of public opinion.

Up, down, up, down, down, down & up. Farming is one of the most variable occupations in the world. Our profitability is determined by several factors including drought, pricing & government intervention. Australia is lucky to have access to farm management deposit (FMD) accounts to mitigate the impact of seasonal conditions. In this update we look at the state of FMD accounts at present during the drought.

In many areas of the country the outlook for the crop looks bleak. There are many farmers out there who have forward sold grain and will not have the production to deliver.

Washing out a forward sold grain contract is a stressful action. In this short article, we will look at washouts and rollovers - and why it is so important to look at it early. 

In recent years overseas travel has become cheaper and easier and people are travelling to more exotic and ‘unusual’ destinations.

This travel brings with it the risk of disease spread on the feet of travellers, the worst of which is the dreaded foot and mouth disease. 

This is an astonishing comment from a leading South African politician. If you have been following the news in recent days, you would likely be aware of the deteriorating situation facing South African farmers. In 2017, 82 farmers were killed, in 423 attacks on farms. So far in 2018 there have been 15 murders and 109 attacks.

What is going on, what is likely to be the impact of these actions, and should they learn some lessons from neighbouring Zimbabwe?

South Australia is the only major crop producing area in Australia which does not allow the commercial production of GM crops. We were tasked by the industry with answering the question:

”Does the GM moratorium, provide a premium price to South Australian farmers?”