There are three major ports in NSW – Newcastle, Port Botany in Sydney and Port Kembla in Wollongong – and all the state’s major transport networks operate in a ‘hub and spoke’ arrangement to move goods in and out of these centres. “Because of the extreme steepness of the escarpment, there are only two or three points through which freight can be delivered successfully,” says Robert Hardie, NSW Farmers’ policy director – cropping and horticulture. The big challenge is the Great Dividing Range that splits inland regions from the coast. The unique nature of NSW geography makes grain supply chain networks a difficult issue for farmers. “If we could get $15 a tonne, $10 a tonne or even $5 a tonne extra, then I’m sure we would all be putting our hands up,” he says.ĬHALLENGING TERRAIN FOR FARMERS ACROSS NSW While he concedes the economies of scale are different in Australia, he says increased returns for growers are well within our reach. On his travels, he saw how increased efficiencies in rail transport, combined with on-farm storage, were delivering returns of up to $20 per tonne above average market price for Canadian growers. His scholarship was supported by the Grains Research & Development Corporation, and Andrew wanted to study supply chains and on-farm storage options from a grower’s point of view. In addition, total Australian supply chain costs are higher than for our international competitors such as Russia, Argentina and the Ukraine.įor his Nuffield Scholarship – the international program that allows Australian farmers to travel and research agricultural methods overseas – Andrew undertook a 16-week trip to the United Kingdom, Europe and North America. Transport costs account for about 30-35% of the total cost of production for the Australian grain harvest. “That way, they are making the most of their expertise and investment by getting the best prices for their crop and not just taking what is on offer in a particular season or in particular market circumstances when there may be a glut of produce that drives prices down.” In a good year, they can hold back surplus grain and store it safely and hygienically until prices pick up in the future, thereby maximising their returns per tonne and per hectare. “Investing in on-farm storage is a way for the farmers to take control of when and where they market their grain, and into which market they sell. “Farming is a tough and competitive business these days with a multitude of markets and opportunities, but also a seemingly never-ending increase to costs,” says Andrew. On-farm storage is, in Andrew’s opinion, the all-important first link in the grain industry’s supply chain, and an important first step for farmers looking to maximise returns. It gives us flexibility in the way we approach our business.”īut it is a flexibility that extends far beyond the parched landscape of the current drought. There’s no doubt we are managing the drought better because we have those on-farm facilities. If we hadn’t had our own grain on hand, we would probably have had to buy it in. “We have been hand-feeding our sheep on wheat and oats from the 2016 crop that we had held back from market. “Our ability to store grain in the good years and to carry that through to use in the bad years is a good example of the versatility that on-farm storage can give to a farmer in the 21st century,” says Andrew, a 2015 Nuffield Scholar who has studied international grain industry supply chains and on-farm storage options. His investment in on-farm storage had less to do with luck and much more to do with a clearly designed and implemented management strategy that is now paying him and his family big dividends. Andrew runs his 5,500-hectare property with his parents David and Sue, and brother Marc.
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