GOOD fruit and vegetable producers are very confident.
Confident about their economic prospects, that is.
Rabobank has done a lot of surveying and, to quote them:
"Excellent season and booming commodity prices see nation's buoyant farmers defying broader COVID economic uncertainty."
Results at a glance:
- Australian farm sector defied COVID-19 uncertainty, with high commodity prices and excellent winter rainfall behind increasing rural confidence levels.
- Sentiment soars in Western Australia, closely followed by New South Wales, where cropping prospects are strong.
- Business investment levels rise as farmers seek to capitalise on high returns to grow farm productivity.
The survey reveals Australian farm sector confidence is at one of its highest levels in the survey's history due to ongoing positive seasonal conditions and exceptionally-high commodity prices, with more than 90 per cent of Australian farmers expecting the current conditions to continue or improve further over the coming 12 months.
That's fine, I said to myself, but what about Tasmania?
The answer, not surprisingly, was on page 13 of an edition of The Post, the electorate-wide communication from Gavin Pearce MP, federal member for Braddon. (For North Island readers, that's the electorate which covers the top left hand third of the state.)
"Tasmania's farming confidence tops nation," the article headline said.
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"Tasmanian farming confidence is soaring, with the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey recording the state's highest confidence reading in six years.
"The recent survey results reveal 98 per cent of the state's farmers expect the excellent business conditions being experienced in Tasmania's agricultural sector to either continue or improve in the year ahead.
"Across the nation, it has also been a stellar year for agriculture with the Australian agricultural sector poised to smash production value records this year, with our pandemic-defying farmers propelling the sector to $73 billion.
"This is up from last year's production of $66 billion."
Any increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is free to the agricultural producer, so you can play around with figures to your heart's content.
The global agricultural market value is $10,182 billion. The crop market value is $4604.67 billion.
Much to many activist's frustration, it is totally reliant on that contentious gas, carbon dioxide, without which there would be no photosynthesis.
The present atmospheric level is 0.04 per cent.
Market gardeners for the past 100 years have aimed at achieving levels in the glasshouse of 0.10pc, or more than twice that, since yields will increase by at least 10pc and in some cases 70pc.
Any increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is free to the agricultural producer, so you can play around with figures to your heart's content.
Before you do this, bear in mind that atmospheric levels in the past were well above the present level, and that the prevailing climate that accompanied these high levels was neither dangerous nor threatening to life on Earth.
My play started with looking at that $4604.67 billion. A billion is a thousand million. One per cent of a billion is one in a hundred, or 10 in a thousand, or 10 million.
So, 1pc is $46.0467 million. So, an increase in crop production of 1pc equates to a global increase in profit of just over $46 million.
This is the absolute minimum.
All of this for free.
- Contact Dr Walker: wvipl@activ8.net.au
