Drought

Credit Suisse has highlighted the 'perfect margin squeeze' for agribusinesses and primary producers presented by water scarcity but efficiency innovation continues to present investment opportunities.

Interest from institutional investors and private equity remains strong in Australian agriculture despite difficult conditions because of a belief in the asset class’ ‘long-term thesis’.

NAB and Dairy Australia said continuing high input costs, exacerbated by drought, have led to a decline in production, with further falls expected this year.

Digital Agriculture Services found a strong correlation between drought-affected and fire-hit land, with 86% of fire-hit land suffering at least a 1-in-10-year rainfall deficit.

The unprecedented bushfire season is playing out in a way that climate scientists predicted years ago, demonstrating again how agriculture assets, especially those in a country like Australia, are vulnerable to climate risk.

Basin state governments all said progress was made at a meeting this week, although claims of an ‘overhaul’ of the Plan by the NSW government were dismissed by observers.

Rabobank found that 41% of farmers thought agricultural conditions would worsen in the coming 12 months, after ABARES revised down its winter crop forecast for 2019-20 by 13%.

One Tree Agriculture lists properties after completing sale of another Queensland aggregation earlier this year to Canadian pension PSP.

Steve Jarrott joins Warakirri from Westchester, where he was Australian portfolio manager, to oversee its latest diversified ag fund.

Rural lender issues pessimistic winter crop outlook for 2019-20 that is significantly lower than official government forecasts.