MASSIVE INCREASE IN UKRAINIAN GRAIN PRODUCTION & EXPORT

Ukraine has bounced back from its 2010 drought with a vengeance, exporting a whopping 9.65 million tonnes for their marketing year, which began on July 1.

This is a 42pc year on year increase.

Ukrainian officials say 2011 was the biggest production year in the nation since independence in 1991.

CORN & SOYBEANS ‘How does your garden grow”

In a surprise bearish report, the US Department of Agriculture increased production estimates and harvested acres for both the corn and soybean markets.

On the corn supply side of the ledger, USDA increased corn yields 0.5 bu./acre to 147.2 bu./acre on a total of 84 million harvested acres (an increase of 45,000 acres). USDA increased corn use with South American weather pulling down world corn supplies. Exports were projected 50 million bu. higher due to lower projected supply prospects for Argentina. Ending stocks for corn now sit at 846 million bu., providing more leeway rather than the low end of trade estimates calling for a mere 582 million bu.

Terry Roggensack, analyst for the Hightower Report, noted that USDA lowered Argentina production estimates by just 3 million tons due to dryness over the critical grain fill period. However, he warned that the production drop may be too low, with many in the field projecting production cuts ranging from 12 to 16 million tons.

If those large production losses due come in, next month USDA could lower world production by quite a bit and raise U.S. exports again, again amplifying the tight world stocks situation in corn, Roggensack noted.

USDA also slightly increased soybean yields, up 0.2 bu. to 41.5 bu./acre, bringing total production to 3.056 billion bu. USDA lowered soybean crush 10 million bu. and dropped exports 25 million bu. from last month and down 226 million from the 2010-11 marketing year. Soybean ending stocks are projected at 275 million bu., up 45 million bu. from last month.

Global soybean production was projected at 257 million tons, down 2.2 million mostly due to lower production forecasts for South America. The Argentina soybean crop was projected at 50.5 million tons, down 1.5 million due to lower projected area and yields, USDA said.

In the short-term, prices will see downward pressure from the bearish news. However, South American weather will again take the front seat in driving prices forward to gauge the total production losses that could result from the continued dry weather.

ALPACA is said to be the fibre of the gods, but Australia’s alpaca fleece market is yet to reach stellar heights.

South Australian Alpaca breeders pic below compliments of country life news

A new concept Premium Alpaca is hoping to change all that, aiming to increase international demand for the luxury fibre.

The aim of a large consortium of growers across Australia is to develop a commercially viable market for alpaca fleece by producing consistent, sizeable consignments of high quality fibre.

Many alpaca owners produce only a few kilograms of fleece each year and usually give it away to home spinners, or it sits in their sheds. But Premium Alpaca is marketing the fleece in bales of about 100 kilograms.

The first Premium Alpaca bales were offered at auction in mid-December at Fremantle in Western Australia.

All three fleece bales sold were from South Australian breeders and realised about 10 per cent more than the highest advertised price at the time.

They were the only fleece bales to sell in the 21-bale auction, going to Australasian company Alpaca Ultimate.

The finest 20.2-micron bale made $20.35 a kilogram, the 22.2M bale $15.40/kg, and the 23.6M bale $12.10/kg.

Premium Alpaca hopes to hold another sale in March.

Its national coordinator Paul Vallely, Crookwell, New South Wales, says it is the first time a concerted effort has been made to build a commercially viable market.

Premium Alpaca is a natural progression from the Ultrafine bale scheme which has produced the world’s finest alpaca bale three times in the past five years.

Alpaca has been used in prestige garments but market analysis during the scheme shows there is a market for “high standard” fibre up to 26M to 28M.

“We found that there was a place for alpaca in the top-shelf range, but the crucial thing from our market analysis was that we have to reduce the variation in fibre diameter within consignments and we need commercial volumes – not 10-20kg,” he said.

“The average alpaca grower has only 10-30 kilograms of fibre, so the industry is highly fragmented with a whole range of colours and fibre diameter – it is useless to market unless it is a uniform consignment of commercial volume.”

LOT FEED INDUSTRY IN WA KEEN TO ABSORB STATES SURPLUS GRAIN

THE State’s excess supply of new season feed wheat and barley is being quickly snapped up by the WA lotfeeding industry.

During the season CBH comprehensively tested grain for falling numbers which CBH grain quality manager Mat Regan said saved hundreds of thousands of tonnes from automatically ending up in the feed stack.

But Wheatbelt farmers still delivered about a million tonnes of feed grade wheat to CBH this season, sparking grower concern about whether domestic or international markets would buy it for a respectable price.

“I thought there would have been far more feed quality grain around this season but falling numbers machines helped to save much of it,” Mr Regan said.

“About half the 1mt of Feed delivered has already been nominated, meaning there is quite a demand for it.”

And for those growers who stored their Feed grade harvest on-farm this year, with a view to sell it privately, the prospects also looked good.

Borden lotfeeder Paul O’Meehan and his feedlot manager Brett Page hadn’t yet bought high volumes of feed for the 2000 head of Angus cross cattle in their yards.

With about 4000 tonnes of wheat harvested from the O’Meehan’s own property stored on-farm, there hadn’t been the need to supplement stocks.

But with roughly 10,000t of feed needed to go through the troughs by the time their 2000 head finished 60 days in the feedlot, Mr Page wasn’t worried about finding good quality feed grain.

“By all accounts there is a fair bit of it around,” he said.

“We haven’t received as many direct phone calls as I thought we might have but I’m not worried about finding supplies once ours start to go down.”

Mr Page said heavy grain with low screenings was optimal for the feedlot and higher protein grain with higher moisture specifications than CBH’s receival standards was also advantageous.

Grainfed beef turned off from the enterprise were predominantly fed on a diet of tempered wheat, barley, lupins, oaten hay, straw and silage depending on the season.

The O’Meehan’s annual feed grain purchases can be upward of 6000t of barley and wheat.