WHILE it would be ideal for all sectors of agriculture to enjoy sustained prosperity simultaneously, that is rarely the case.
More commonly, as one sector falls, another rises, and this was on show at Quambatook last Wednesday when a delegation from Gannawarra Shire Council witnessed a potentially bumper year for grain growers.
While slashed milk prices have blighted large swathes of the Gannawarra Shire in recent months, grain growers are now positioning for a bountiful season on the back of two very tough years.
Gannawarra mayor, Cr Lorraine Learmonth, along with Cr Neil Gannon and economic development manager Roger Griffiths met with local farmer and Victorian Farmers Federation Grains Group president, Brett Hosking to discuss the season.
“We’re looking very good at the moment; the crops are up and motoring and it is looking like it has the potential to be a really good season,” Mr Hosking told the trio.
With most local areas already recording more than 200 millimetres for the year, Mr Hosking said there was widespread optimism among growers.
“The proviso I put on that is obviously everything hangs on the spring and we haven’t got the subsoil moisture that we would hope for so if we run into a particularly tight spring, it could get quite tough for growers,” he said.
“But the promise from the forecast is for a La Nina year so fingers crossed that they’re correct; the bureau is pretty good these days so I think we can have confidence that they’ll get this right.”
Mr Hosking said grain growers in the Quambatook district traditionally enjoyed strong business ties with their dairy counterparts to the east, so they would also be impacted by the dairy crisis.
“It will have an effect on grain growers in particular in this area because it’s such a strong market for us; there are these wonderful partnerships between grain growers and dairy farmers,” he said.
“That being said, we are always producing an exportable surplus of grain in Australia so while it will have an impact, there will be a home for our grain so there’s no concern there.
“The concern for us is that we want a strong and vibrant dairy industry because that provides benefits back to us and supports our communities, so we want to see them do well.”
Mr Hosking said while there was ready demand for grain, hay production could be cut because of reduced demand from the dairy sector.
“There will be a bigger impact on hay than on grain and while there still be demand for hay from dairy farmers and also opportunities with export mills, we will probably see a scaling down of growers making hay unless they confident in the fact they have the market opportunities,” he said.
“Dairy farmers have already been proactive and fair and contacted growers to say that they would be scaling down on the grain and hay they thought they’d be needing, and the growers understand that.”
Mr Griffiths said the Gannawarra Shire was well positioned to cope with hits to particular agricultural sectors.
“One of the positive aspects of the Gannawarra Shire is the diversity we have in agriculture, so while we’re seeing a downturn in the dairy industry, we’re seeing a good season in broadacre cropping,” he said.
“Agriculture is our main economic driver so it’s important for our retailers that one sector picks up as another drops off.”
