The best good news story in town at the moment is the revival of the agricultural sector.

Decent rain at the start of 2020 and good follow-up falls, look set to change the fortunes of many graziers, farmers and contractors in the region as there is now an abundance of pastures for stock and the planting of crops is underway.

“Really, it’s been a big shot in the arm for the area,” said Hunter Harley, livestock and branch manager for Davidson Cameron & Co, Narrabri, about the impact of this year’s rain.

“People have actually gone back into cattle that probably were thinking otherwise, and the markets have been pretty good.

“So it’s kept Narrabri’s numbers up and they’ve had a massive ability to put weight on.

“And going forward for the winter, farmers are going to have a season that they probably only get one in 20 years in this country.

“It’s renowned winter country, but this year is going to be just that one in 20, out-of-the-box sort of years.”

The rain has not only caused a spike in cattle prices but also boosted the spirits of many farmers and businesses reliant on agriculture.

Although money isn’t flowing through the farm gate just yet, the season is looking a lot more promising than the last three years.

“I think everyone’s mood has changed and it’s great to see people with smiles on their faces,” said Mr Harley.

The livestock manager said that COVID-19 hadn’t had a huge impact on cattle prices at this point, ironically because stock numbers are low due to the drought.

“The numbers being so low have probably saved us at the moment with the market because COVID has placed a lot of stress on our export markets but the numbers are so low domestically that that’s kept that price up,” said Mr Harley.

“Otherwise, if we had big numbers coming into this COVID, we probably would have seen really, really terrible pricing, but the numbers were so low.

“I definitely wouldn’t have wished to have the three years of drought we had to save us from COVID. No one saw this coming.

“But the market’s actually very good considering we’re in the middle of a virus.”
Mr Harley said the restocker market is “out of this world”.

“It’s not just here where we have this beautiful winter country in the Narrabri yards.

“Everywhere is seeing seasons, probably as good as they’ve seen and I hear people who’ve been in certain areas for 50 years say that their feed is as good as they’ve ever seen, if not better.”

“In my own opinion I think we’re going to see the end pricing in some markets get a bit tougher.

“That’s only going to be a result of the export market because they can’t sell their meat.

“It’ll get dropped on the domestic market until the world starts opening up again.

“But I think we could see a few little hiccups (due to COVID-19) in the next two or three months.

“But I’ve got a feeling that they’ll change quickly, if anything, as the world starts opening up again, getting over this pandemic.

“And you’ll also find the worst of it’ll be when everyone’s got their cattle out in the paddocks putting the weight on in the winter.

“So my tip is, markets might come off a little bit, but people will be fattening them when that’s happening, they won’t be selling them.

“So we could be a little bit insulated from it.”

Mr Harley said he was thrilled agriculture was turning a corner and grateful to be working in an industry that could keep ticking during the pandemic.

“I know my clients have commented and I’ve commented myself that I’m so lucky to be involved in the
agricultural supply chain because we get to go to work every day.

“I feel very sorry for some people in industries that have really been compromised by this and they’ve lost their jobs as a result.

“Circumspectly, I thought how good to have been in this game.

“Definitely we’ve gone full cycle – we’re lucky.

“A client the other day said that he thinks that out of this pandemic people, particularly in metropolitan areas, have seen what the farmers are doing through this and how important they are in terms of providing food – that’s been the big thing that everyone wants and farmers provide food,” said Mr Harley.

Hopefully the sector and trade isn’t impacted greatly due to the pandemic.

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