North Africa wheat imports
ALREADY some of the largest importers of wheat in the world, North African nations are set to increase their orders this year due to drought.
US Department of Agriculture data showed that the region's wheat imports are expected to soar 7.4 per cent to some 29.7 million tonnes, exceeding that required by other voracious markets such as the Middle East and south-east Asia.
Egypt is often the world's largest importers of wheat, but demand there is stable as it only has small scale production.
Morocco and Algeria are also big wheat consumers but often manage to grow reasonable volumes.
This year, drought will mean big imports are required, with Morocco set to import a record 5.8m tonnes.
Irrigation breakthrough
A new partnership between CSIRO and agtech company Goanna Ag will see sensors and analytics combined in an effort to maximise the efficiency of irrigation water.
'WaterWise' will be an Australia-first only water-use efficiency product for irrigated crops that measures crop water stress and predicts future water needs in real time.
Goanna Ag, which produces agricultural sensing systems for water-use efficiency, will be delivering WaterWise's smart analytics as a data stream to their on-farm customers.
Alicia Garden, Goanna Ag chief executive, said that for Goanna Ag and its customers, being involved in this innovation means they can access brand-new, Australian-made, science-based technology and incorporate it into their existing GoField system.
New resistance tool
AUSTRALIA'S crop protection peak body CropLife Australia has released its updated Resistance Management Strategies for fungicides, herbicides and insecticides, featuring a newly developed strategy for fall armyworm, which recently was detected in Australia for the first time.
Matthew Cossey, CropLife chief executive said farmers constantly needed to control pests while at the same time reduce their environmental impact.
"Having an integrated pest management system and an effective resistance management strategy for chemical crop protection products is crucial to the longterm viability and profitability of Australian farming."
With the devastating pest, the fall armyworm, now in Australia, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has approved a number of emergency use permits to provide protection options for a range of crops.
Mr Cossey said Australian farmers needed to have a strategy should they detect the pest.
"Fall armyworm has been devastating for many overseas farming sectors and now poses a serious threat to Australian crops."
"The plant science industry is focussed on providing growers with as many solutions as possible to manage pest incursions - including fall armyworm and that's why we have prepared a fall armyworm strategy as part of our 2020 Resistance Management Strategies."
EU crop downgraded
COCERAL, the European Union (EU) grain trade organisation, has downgraded total grain production in the EU and the United Kingdom.
In its last estimate COCERAL shaved off 2.6 million tonnes from its earlier estimates with total grain production dipping just below 300 million tonnes at 299.2m tonnes.
This is a 4 per cent drop on 2019, where 311.8 m tonnes was grown.
Wheat production is set at 129.7m tonnes, down from 135.4m tonnes, primarily due to dry conditions in France, Germany and Denmark.