Agmates

Queensland Nationals Senator Ron Boswell [pictured] writes:

The Rudd Government’s Climate Change White Paper, due for release by the end of the year, must address the predicted cost increases to the agricultural sector from an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Farmers will be hit from day one of the government’s proposed ETS with major increases to power, fuel and fertiliser costs.

According to the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2006, Agriculture makes up 16% of Australia’s total Greenhouse Gas Emissions which means that the cost increases from an ETS to this sector will be dramatic.

ABARE modelling suggests that before agriculture is even included in an ETS the cost increases for a cropping operation will be (4%) four percent and the cost increases for livestock producers will be (3%) three percent.

The same ABARE modelling predicts that when the Agriculture sector is included in 2015, at a carbon price of $40, the sector would suffer total cost increases of (18%) eighteen percent to a livestock operation and (6%) six percent to a cropping operation.

The livestock and cropping industries will have to bear costs that their overseas competitors won’t have because they are based in countries without an ETS.

Rockdale Beef has estimated that their abattoir, with a turnover of 180,000 head per annum, would need to purchase $6million worth of permits ($33.60 per head) to cover their increased processing costs due to an ETS. Furthermore, at a stocking rate of 50,000hd, the feedlot would need an additional $840k per annum ($16.80per head) to offset emissions due to on site ruminant activity.

Somebody has to wear the increased costs to domestic and exported agricultural products and this burden will be placed on the producer, the consumer or both.

The Rudd Government’s White Paper should address the major cost increases for agriculture even before the sector is officially included in an ETS.

What Industry in the current global economic crisis could possibly survive an increase in costs of up to 18% ?

END

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Farmers across the majority of Australia are rejoicing after the last 7 days have been seen tremendous late spring rain.

This type of widespread rain in late spring has not been seen for many years. Whilst it missed some drought ravaged areas particularly in North West QLD and the Northern Territory, rains of 25mm - 150mm soaked vast reaches of farming land in every state.

How much rain did you get for the week?

We are finally getting the message that Australia needs to look after its farmers into the mainstream media.

Respected Australian Newspaper Senior Journalist Dennis Shanahan writes this article with these headlines:

Farmers Need our Support

Food security is a bigger ethical issue, because of it’s immediacy, than addressing greenhouse gas emissions.

Dennis Shanahan [pictured] is right across the issues when he writes:

Right now, food security - the ability to be able to supply food not only for ourselves but also for countries that can’t produce enough - is a bigger ethical issue than addressing greenhouse gas emissions because of its immediacy.

Ironically, famine is listed as one of the side effects of climate change. And, unlike the impact of an emissions trading scheme on energy-intensive industries, which won’t be felt until 2010, there is legislation, regulations and government policies that are having a direct and immediate effect on food production in Australia.

Popular opposition to genetically modified crops and food, tax breaks for forests as carbon sinks and billions being spent on buying back farmers’ water rights are threatening Australia’s agricultural output.

Throw in animal rights’ groups campaigns against a slew of animal husbandry practices - from sheep mulesing and live exports to battery pigs and hens - and Australia’s farmers, beaten into the dust by drought and environmental demands, can be excused for feeling desperate and despairing.

I think Dennis in this article has captured the exact theme that we have been writing about here at Agmates and here on Crikey for the last 12 months.

Read the article, its a beauty, its accurate and well researched. It gets the message out to Urban Australia that the way we are going as a nation pursuing rabid environmental ideals we’ll finish up crippling our ability to feed ourselves.

For that wonderful piece of journalism in Australia’s best newspaper - The Australian, Dennis Shanahan wins a prestigious Agmates Onya Award.

From the Agmates Rural and regional Community a big thumbs up to Dennis for reporting it exactly as it is.

‘Onya’ Dennis.

Dennis is the 13th Winner of an Agmates ‘onya award’ and the first city based Journalist.

See list of all other ‘Onya’ award winners.

Giant Fertilizer Company Incitec Pivot has used its market domination to rip millions of dollars out of farmers pockets.

INCITEC Pivot has almost trebled annual profit to a record ($614.3 million)……

Australia’s largest fertiliser maker’s net profit for the year ended September 30 hit $614.3 million, from $205.3 million a year earlier …….

Incitec had earnings before interest and tax of $969.1 million, more than three times fiscal year 2007’s $312.5 million, primarily reflecting higher manufacturing margins, the company said.

This is an obscene profit increase at the expense of farmers.

Still thats supply and demand when your a farmer. Pivot Supplies, then demands you pay any price they ask.

Incitec Pivot have clearly price gouged farmers as the manufacturers. Add that to the resellers making more than their fair margin at the retail end as evidenced by Elders recent profit announcement, farmers really have been the victims of corporate greed this last 12 months.

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The much laundered new era of Federal - State cooperation has fallen apart.

The Federal Governments battle to gain control of the Murray Basin Water took an ugly turn this week with Federal Water Minister Penny Wong dropping a ‘water bomb’ on the Victorian State Labor Government Premier John Brumby [pictured] .

“In an aggressive play that was dropped on the states by surprise, Federal Water Minister Penny Wong declared that grants for small-scale farmers to cease irrigating will be paid only to those whose home state has agreed to the Commonwealth’s demands over abolishing certain trading rules.

The move has renewed tensions between the Rudd and Brumby governments over reform in the Murray-Darling Basin and forces the Brumby Government to effectively choose between two groups of farmers.”

Struggling small irrigators have been lining up to take advantage of the exit grants scince they were first announce 2 months ago.

“Pressure from the Commonwealth intensified over the weekend when Ms Wong declared that farmers could not access the grants - worth up to $150,000 - until their home state had met the Commonwealth’s demands.

The incentive package has been offered only to “small block” farmers - those with less than 15 hectares of land - and is of most significance to farmers in Victoria’s Sunraysia district.”

Once again small farmers will be left high and dry whilst the Brumby government digs its heals in.

“The Brumby Government vowed to continue fighting to protect the 4% trading cap until late 2009, when it is scheduled to rise to 6%.”

It would be a real treat and a novelty for Australia to have just one State Political Leader who’s planning and policies had a longer time frame than the next State election.

Can there be a better example than the Murray Darling fiasco for the need to rid ourselves of the blight on our nation that is our system of State Governments?

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Queensland Senator and Leader of the Nationals in the Senate Barnaby Joyce. From his desk Senator Joyce writes on the impacts of the Rudd Governments Emissions Trading Scheme on the State of Queensland:

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With Queensland’s largest export being coal, the Government’s planned emissions trading scheme is a direct hit to the State’s bottom line. The ramifications of the emissions trading scheme will be felt by the people of Queensland more than any other State.

Not quite what we expected from a Queensland Prime Minister.

This Government tax grab in the form of a “Carbon Pollution Reduction” plan will be a price mechanism to reduce the competitiveness of the coal and aluminium industries, followed by the agricultural industry in the not too distant future.

In the interim, the mountainous State Labor debt will continue to grow. Queensland will be facing a debt of AU$65 billion, when you consider the addition of an emissions trading scheme. Such a burden carries major ramifications for the State, from overlooked infrastructure to the collapse of public private partnerships.

When all is said and done, we will be able to say with confidence that the Labor Party has been the author of a complete economic fiasco for our State.

Mr Rudd’s catchphrase of “I’m from Queensland, I’m here to help” has proved prophetic for the people of Queensland. His belligerent persistence to chase an emissions trading scheme will be factored into the decisions of the international participants in our economy and the domestic aspirations of everybody from the commercial hub in Brisbane to the industrial hub of Townsville, to the export hub of Gladstone and flowing through to the domestic tourism industry in Cairns.

The economic development inspired by mining will be something for the history books.

The people of Queensland will be happy to know that in his earnest self-righteous endorsement of Queensland’s path to perdition, Mr Rudd’s epistle was based on economic conditions that are so far from the reality of where we are now, his oversight is nothing short of overwhelming.

Being the largest exporter of seaborne coal in the world, Queensland has more than 30 billion tonnes of identified resources of black coal in situ. In addition, the Sunshine State is one of the largest beef producers by region in the world and is one of the fastest growing value adders of bauxite in aluminium production.

Responsible for such a notable contribution to the Nation, Queensland has a great deal to lose at the hands of this imprudent plan. We have a whole new theory of economic decoupling, only this time we will see a separation between Queensland and prosperity.

END

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If the Federal government were to adopt the recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s draft report into drought assistance for farmers and rural businesses will will see many rural communities decimated. Farmers will abandon some properties and small rural communities will become ghost towns.

Sensationally the report that reads like the work of the ‘grim reaper’ recommends that all current drought assistance being paid should be be scraped by June 2010 regardless of the season conditions that prevail between now and then.

Under the Commissions shock recommendations the only assistance available to farmers after 2010 will be income support (dole), which will be means tested, only available after any Farm Management Deposits have been used and only for a maximum 3 year period. Farmers will also have to go through a full review each 6 months to continue to receive assistance.

Small Businesses in Rural towns will receive nothing in the way of drought assistance.

The report recommends:

• Doing way completely with current interest rate subsidies by June 2010.
• Income support at the same level as the dole be would be only available to individual farming families for 3 years in any 7 year period.
• Income support to be reviewed every 6 months
• Income support only available to farmers with overall assets, (including the Family Home on the property) worth less than $3 million.
• No assistance will be available for rural businesses.
• The $150,000 farm exit grant to be scrapped from June 2009.
• Farm Management deposits to be retained, but should be drawn down first before farmers are eligible for any other assistance.

The reports recommendations reveal a bleak outlook for drought stricken farmers and rural communities.

Commenting on the report Acting Ag Minister Martin Ferguson guaranteed that existing rules of exceptional circumstance would not change for anybody currently receiving assistance.

The Commissions final report is due out in February 2009.

Since 2002 approximately 30,000 Australian farmers have received drought assistance totally over $1 billion dollars.

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G’day All,

I’m back on air. Had a few issues to deal with over the last 48 hours. You know - life gets in the road of the important sometimes.

So here comes a flood of stuff that I’ve been thinking about and working on. Thanks for your patience.

Plan B

As well as the life stuff I have also been doing a heap of work on the auction / classified side of the site. All of the Rural / farming stuff is now under the Heading - “Farming, Livestock Rural”. Click here to see what I’m talking about.

I’ve moved to open the site up so that people other than farmers can list and sell items by auction or classifieds.

I’ve done this because the long term viability of Agmates depends on the success of the auctions / classifieds section as it funds the news site. The number of visitors to Agmates is continuing its strong growth with 10,200 unique visitors last month (that means if you visited the site everyday you only get counted once in that number) and we have already gone over that this month.

However we are not seeing a corresponding growth in Farmer listings. Its a pity as I had hoped we could keep the site a ‘farmer and rural only site’. So I am implementing the Plan B as I’m concerned that Agmates might perish while we wait for that side of the business to take on with the farming community.

So what you now see is that the farmer auction / classified side of Agmates is now a Site within a site if you like.

That is all of the features are still there but are now behind the “Farming Livestock Rural” Icon (the windmill) on the front page.

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To see the Properties for sale just click on the New Property icon pictured, the Green house.

In the next week or so we will be adding Houses and also commercial property.

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And Finally to See Businesses that are advertising on Agmates click on the globe icon (looking for a business) on the front page.

This too will be changing with all of the business that service rural & regional Australia to be moved. Some already have with more changes to come.

The ultimate goal is that when you’re looking for a Business, Professional Service or a Rural Contractor that you’ll be able to come to Agmates and at a click of a mouse find exactly what your looking for and be able to email or phone them straight away.

Thats no to say Agmates does not need your support.

We have 1,000’s of visitors looking for stuff as well as reading our news and your opinions - but we don’t have enough listing for those visitors to look at and buy.

If you value Agmates as your totally free and 100% independent rural and regional media than do what you can to support us by using it to market / advertise your goods and promoting the community to others.

If you don’t value the Agmates community, then don’t do anything. You are all adults and will only do what you want to do. It’s totally up to you.

Anyway - thats just an update for you all.

Cheers - Your Agmate - Steve

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JBS Swift announced last week that it was not proceeding with the purchase of Australian beef processors Kilcoy Pastoral Co (QLD) and Harvey Beef (W.A).

Now JBS has hit another hurdle in the US with its proposed purchase of the nations 4th largest meat processor National Beef Packing Co.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago to block JBS-Swift & Co.’s proposed acquisition of National Beef Packing Co., contending the deal would cause financial hardship on consumers and producers and harm industry competition.

The Attorneys General of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming are joining in the lawsuit.

The DOJ concluded that combining JBS-Swift and National Beef, the third- and fourth-largest U.S. beef packers, respectively, would result in lower prices paid to cattle suppliers and higher beef prices for consumers.

In court documents, the department deal also would eliminate a “competitively significant” packer and place more than 80 percent of domestic cattle slaughter capacity in the hands of three companies: JBS, Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc., the department said.

Thomas O. Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, said in a statement.

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“The combination of JBS and National will likely lead to grocers, foodservice companies and ultimately American consumers paying higher prices for beef.

It will also lessen the competition among packers in the purchase of cattle that has been critical to ensuring competitive prices to the nation’s thousands of producers, ranchers and feedlots.”

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JBS announced in early March it had reached agreements to purchase Kansas City, Mo.-based National Beef ($465 million), Smithfield Beef Group ($565 million) and Australia’s Tasman Group ($150 million).

A DOJ spokesman said the department is not challenging JBS’s proposed purchase of Smithfield Beef Group, the nation’s fifth-largest beef packer, or the Five Rivers cattle feeding operation.

Source: Meatinplace

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The Global Credit Crisis has dominated the news for the month, yet there has been virtually nothing written or said by Agriculture Industry leaders on the impacts on, or consequences for our rural industries.

Yesterday Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke [pictured] finally took a leadership role by summonsing representatives of Agricultural groups, accountants, the National Rural Advisory Council, ABARE and the big banks to Sydney for a crisis summit.

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“After the meeting, Mr Burke said bank representatives - including those from the big four banks - had given him and farmers assurances the financial meltdown would not swallow up this month’s interest rate cut, or block access to credit.

(I was) able to find out for the farmers … directly from the banks, that in the immediate term they are still open to business, that they are still providing credit to Australia’s farmers,” he said.”

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Farmers now want to know what the outlook is as commodity prices tumble and farm input costs soar. Minister Burke is gloomy in his outlook:

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“We still don’t know what the impact will be on global demand for Australian exports,” he said.

“Certainly it’s true that most farm inputs, such as fertiliser, such as chemical, such as fuel are imported, and so the lower dollar has an impact there.

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On top of these woes Australian farmers are waiting for the minister to spell out to the industry what the financial impacts will be of the proposed emissions trading scheme. Those impacts will be a double whammy as countries like the USA and the EU are expected to increase subsidies to their farmers and impose import tariffs on Australian Ag exports.

The Agmates community looks forward to Minister Burke now providing our Rural industries with strong and decisive leadership as we move forward in these unprecedented times of global economic turmoil.

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Have Your say! Has your bank passed on the interest rate cut yet?