A new industry-specific data set to help Western Australian grain growers reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions and build more sustainable businesses was launched last week by the State Government.

The emissions calculation data set was collated by the Carbon Neutral Grain Pilot Project, backed by the WA Government, Co-operative Bulk Handling Group and Wide Open Agriculture.

The information will enable growers to understand their own grain emissions and respond to increasing global market demand for grain from low emissions production systems.

The data set was based on 36 case studies of grain enterprises on the greenhouse gas emissions from wheat, barley, canola, oats and lupin production, and compares several emissions calculators.

WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the market signals from the global marketplace and this important resource will help our grain growers to remain internationally competitive and profitable.

Information and findings from the Carbon Neutral Grain Pilot are available online. More... | Related: Calculating Carbon Emissions in WA’s Grain Industry | Source: WA Minister for Agriculture and Food / DPIRD | Photo: DPIRD

The Seafood Export Facilitator (SEF) Service – Have Your Say Survey is now open and seafood industry export registered establishments, industry bodies and Seafood Export Consultative Committee members are being invited to share their views.

The purpose of this survey is to gather your feedback and thoughts on your experience with the SEF service, which is run by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Your feedback will help provide to DAFF an understanding of how the SEF service has supported your business and identify how the service can continue assisting the seafood export industry.

To have your say, please complete the Have Your Say Survey by 2pm (AWST) Friday 9 December 2022. The survey will take approximately five minutes to complete, and the information gathered is confidential.

The SEF service was launched in October 2021 and to date has been approached by more than 200 seafood businesses. The SEF provides advice and clarification on registration processes, approved arrangements, importing country requirements, fish cut codes in the Export Documentation (EXDOC) system and other export matters.

Email seafoodExportSupport@agriculture.gov.au if you have any questions. Source: DAFF | Photo: DPIRD

Global demand for grains and oilseeds is set to rise over the next decade. As people and countries become wealthier, meat consumption tends to grow, which leads to a surge in the demand for animal feed.

Separately, over the last three decades, biofuels have become a more important source of energy. There are two main types of biofuels:

• Ethanol, which is usually produced from grains such as corn, sugar and wheat.
• Biodiesel, which is usually produced from oilseeds such as soybean oil, palm oil and canola oil.

Read more about how biofuels and rising incomes will impact grain and oilseed demand here: Grain demand: The impact of meat consumption and biofuels. 

If you would like to receive more market intelligence, subscribe here for the Agricultural Market Intelligence Insights Newsletter produced by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Source and Graphic: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan has applauded the work of the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) to build market share for Australian grains, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

AEGIC is co-owned by the State Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), which together contributed $24 million earlier this year to maintain and build new trade opportunities and industry value over the next four years.

The Western Australian Government allocated an extra $1 million for research and to cultivate opportunities for soft wheat, whole grain wheat and locally grown oats.

Oat rice and noodles are now being commercialised, while novel oat products such as bubble tea, couscous and sauces are being developed.

Soft wheat demand from Asian flour millers continues to grow for biscuits in response to AEGIC's endeavours and further work is underway to position Australian whole grain wheat as a preferred choice in the south east Asian market. More... Source: WA Minister for Agriculture and Food | Photo: DPIRD

Australian exporters can expect to benefit from the rising global demand for sheep meat, according to the latest Austrade Insight. Australian farmers will also enjoy better producer prices.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations expect global sheep meat consumption to increase by 15% to 18.1 million tonnes over the next decade. This is up from 15.9 million tonnes in 2021.

Demand will be driven by increased meat consumption in developing countries and more consumers becoming familiar with sheep meat in wealthy countries. Producer prices for Australian sheep meat are also expected to increase at a faster rate than other meat. This is due to higher relative consumption of more expensive lamb products. More... Source and Graphic: Austrade / TradeMap