F E A T U R E D

Australia's red meat industry drops 2030 carbon neutral goal

CANBERRA, July 1 (Reuters) - An Australian livestock industry body said on Tuesday it had abandoned its goal to make the sector, a significant emitter of planet-warming methane, carbon neutral by 2030 but that reducing emissions would remain a priority.

The carbon neutral pledge, first announced in 2017, was absent from Meat & Livestock Australia's long-term strategy document released on Tuesday. Its managing director, Michael Crowley, said the target had proven unachievable.

"We need more time, more support, and more investment to reach our goal," he said.

Australia's Red Meat Advisory Council dropped the 2030 climate neutral goal from its strategy last week.

The decisions echo those of some governments and companies that have scaled back climate commitments in recent years.

The livestock industry's original 2030 target aimed to reduce emissions and offset those that remained by carbon sequestration in soil or plant matter.

To this end, the industry has pursued innovations including the breeding of animals that emit less methane, using feed supplements such as seaweed that inhibit methane production in the gut, and improving soil carbon capture techniques.

While emissions from Australia's red meat industry did drop 78% by 2021 from 2005 levels, according to the country's science agency CSIRO, this was due to less land clearing and a smaller national herd - not a decrease in methane produced per animal.

Crowley said the research over the last few years would mature into implementation and the industry could still reach 80-90% of its carbon neutrality goal by 2030.

"We need to drive adoption," he said.

He added that the 2030 target had spurred over A$100 million ($66 million) in sustainability investments and MLA, a livestock research and marketing body, would continue to drive efficiency gains and reduce net emissions per kg of meat production.

Australia is one of the world's biggest exporters of red meat and home to 30 million cattle and more than 70 million sheep, according to MLA.

During digestion, these animals produce methane, which breaks down over time but is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a timespan of 20 years.

As the 2025–26 financial year kicks off, there’s renewed momentum in the agribusiness finance space, driven by easing interest rates, end-of-year tax positioning, and growing demand for flexible capital solutions across Australia’s farming regions.

While winter conditions remain patchy across the east and west, one thing is consistent: producers are actively re-evaluating their funding needs, particularly for working capital, equipment upgrades, and property improvements. The beginning of the new financial year is typically a period of recalibration, but this year brings added urgency as many businesses look to restructure debt, access the benefits of accelerated depreciation, and prepare for the seasonal demands of spring.

Banks and non-bank lenders alike are expected to take a more proactive stance in assessing farm profitability and risk. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent signal for ongoing rate cuts has already injected confidence into the sector. Lower borrowing costs, combined with steady commodity prices for beef and grain, are helping producers regain their footing after a tough few quarters.

Green finance is also gaining traction in the rural lending market. With emissions reduction targets now woven into both government policy and private sector reporting, an increasing number of agribusinesses are looking at transition loans and sustainability-linked products, not just for environmental goals, but to gain sharper access to capital and preserve margins.

Amid all this, brokers are playing a bigger role than ever. At Pay In Time Finance, we’re seeing a clear shift in farmer sentiment toward smarter, more tailored funding structures. Whether it's accessing quick capital against equipment, refinancing older debt, or simply exploring new lending opportunities before the next seasonal pivot, the focus is on strategy, not stress.

This financial year may still have its share of uncertainty, but one thing is certain: Agility and alignment with the right financial partner can make all the difference on the farm.

Don’t wait to take your farm to the next level. Contact www.payintime.com.au today and start investing in the tools that will drive your success for years to come.

WEEKLY AUCTION DATES – 2025

Ag Machinery

In late February, Yamaha Motor announced the launch of Yamaha Agriculture, a new company that focuses on delivering autonomous equipment and AI-powered digital solutions to help specialty crop growers become more sustainable, profitable, and resilient. 

As part of Yamaha Agriculture’s launch, the company acquired Robotics Plus and The Yield. Robotics Plus is a New Zealand-based agritech company that specializes in the design and build of robotics, AI, and autonomous machines that reduce reliance on labor and provide data-driven insights for growers. The Yield is a precision yield management company focused on specialty crops that claims to transform precision agriculture practices and outcomes through scalable, AI-based technologies.

“We believe meaningful innovation in agriculture emerges through close collaboration with growers and industry partners,” Nolan Paul, CEO of Yamaha Agriculture, said. “The capabilities of Robotics Plus in robotics and automation, and The Yield in AI-powered analytics represent two important building blocks in addressing these challenges.”

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Walt Duflock, senior vice president of innovation at the Western Growers Association (WGA), said his team “will be working with the Yamaha Agriculture team to try and get the products from Robotics Plus and The Yield vetted and in trials and case studies with our members.”

Increasing labor costs are one of the reasons that WGA is so focused on automation, Duflock said. WGA and Cal Poly Professor Lynn Hamilton worked together on research regarding the labor inputs for selected specialty crops. 

“California farmers spent $16.3 billion on 850 million hours of farm labor in 2023,” Duflock said. “Roughly two-thirds of those hours are on harvesting crops; the other one-third are for non-harvest activities (weeding, thinning, planting, spraying).” 

As a result, Duflock said, “it’s good for the space that Yamaha is taking startup investments and launching a platform to help them get traction in the U.S. and other specialty crop markets.”

Yamaha’s involvement in improving automations in the specialty crop industry “helps increase the chances that Robotics Plus, The Yield, and any other acquisitions have a better shot at having adequate capital to get to scale,” Duflock said. 

Specialty Growers Share Excitement for Yamaha Agriculture

Jeff Cleveringa, the head of orchard operations at Columbia Fruit Packers in Wenatchee, Washington, said automation is a relatively new aspect of the specialty crop industry. 

“The industrial revolution left us behind,” Cleveringa said. “We got the tractor and that was it.”

Now, though, Cleveringa said it’s an exciting time to explore automations in the specialty crop industry. He said Yamaha’s involvement in automation is “the missing link in specialty crops.”

This is because an industry partner like Yamaha Agriculture brings the ability to scale automation tools for the industry as a whole, Cleveringa said. 

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Automation Tools Bring Many Wins for Specialty Crops

On the farms that Columbia Fruit Packers manages, Cleveringa said they invested in Robotics Plus’ Prospr machines in 2024. Prospr is an autonomous, multi-purpose hybrid vehicle designed to perform a range of orchard and vineyard tasks. It was built to tackle labor shortages and is capable of multiple activities, including spraying and weed control, with additional attachments such as mowing in development.

Cleveringa said Columbia Fruit Packers decided to invest in Prospr because “it’s a modular system so we can add other attachments.”

The Prospr machines have helped the team at Columbia Fruit Packers with spraying their orchards with “a lot of cost savings in diesel fuel burn,” Cleveringa said.

The investment into Prospr has been a win-win for his operation, Cleveringa said, not only from a cost-savings standpoint, but also regarding environmental and worker safety concerns.

Yamaha Agriculture’s Involvement Can Get Tools to Growers

Overall, Cleveringa said he’s excited that Yamaha Agriculture can bring the tools Robotics Plus needs to get Prospr into the hands of the growers.

“We hope that this is just the first step for Yamaha Agriculture,” Cleveringa said, “and that they will continue with other companies. We hope this is the first step to work together to identify pain points and opportunities [for the industry].”

Data-Driven Approach to Solve Labor Shortage Concerns

Matt Miles, the process improvement manager at Allen Brothers Fruit in Naches, Washington, said, “Yamaha is going to be a great partner. I’m excited about collaborating with them.”

One of the reasons that Miles said he’s so excited about the financial backing Yamaha Agriculture brings to companies like The Yield, a company his team at Allen Brothers Fruit has been working closely with to develop data-driven automations, is that there’s a massive labor shortage impacting specialty crop growers.

“People used to want to do this work,” Miles said. “There’s a big disconnect between the folks that want to do the work and the work that needs to be done. We’ve been reliant on a low-cost and available workforce.”

Automations will not only ease labor dynamics, Miles said, but they’ll allow companies like Allen Brothers Fruit to make the jobs of the people in the fields and packhouses easier, “so we can maintain or increase productivity.”

Input Costs

Prices for granular urea sold from warehouses in Geelong continued to slide on the back of low rainfall as farmers and retailers' buying interest has been weak. The price falls are expected to reverse after long-awaited rainfall arrived in some cropping areas across the states of Victoria and South Australia (SA) over the weekend.

Favourable weather conditions in Northern New South Wales have supported demand for fertilizer, and suppliers have reported larger parcels being sold in the region. Queensland crop development conditions have also been favourable.

East coast urea suppliers are looking very carefully at how much rainfall hits key cropping areas in the short term to decide whether to lower the number of cargoes in their import programmes. At least one supplier has already recalibrated its import programme, within its term contracts, to reduce the number of cargoes it is bringing to the Australian market.

Stocks remain high

Australia imported 1.26 million tonnes of urea in the first four months of this year, the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows. Urea imports reached an estimated 601,000 tonnes in May and are expected to decrease to 508,000 tonnes in June, according to vessel-tracking data from trade analytics platform Kpler. This suggests Australia's urea imports could reach 2.37 million tonnes in January-June, down from 2.49 million tonnes in the first half of 2024.

But Australian urea stocks are still likely to be higher at the end of June this year compared with the same time a year earlier, according to Argus estimates.

Higher stocks should protect consumers from large-scale price jumps similar to those seen in July 2023, when unexpectedly high rainfall and limited stockpiles caused prices to increase by A$100/t.

New Zealand's Ballance to end Mt Maunganui SSP output

New Zealand fertilizer manufacturer and importer Ballance Agri-Nutrients will cease manufacturing super-single-phosphate (SSP) fertilizer at its 350,000 t/yr Mount Maunganui plant, while continuing to use the site near the port of Tauranga on the North Island for storage and distribution.

Ballance will continue to import fertilizers, and manufacture SSP at its 220,000 t/yr Awarua plant at Invercargill and urea at its 260,000t/yr Kapuni site in Taranaki.

Australian phosphate JV PhosOne targets one million tonnes per year output

Australian mining company North West Phosphate (NWP) and mining processing group Sibanye-Stillwater are targeting 1 million t/yr of phosphate concentrate output by 2028 from their PhosOne joint venture.

The project aims to produce around 500,000 t/yr of 34-35.5pc P205 and 500,000 t/yr of 32pc P205 concentrate, NWP's executive director John Cotter told Argus. Thnx AM

RECENT REPORTS
Fertiliser Report - 30 May 2025

CONGRATULATIONS ROBBIE McKENZIE, CEO REALM GROUP AUSTRALIA JUNE 2025 FLUXX AWARD - SUSTAINABILITY LEADER OF THE YEAR

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Chemical Certification: Why It Matters for Australian Livestock Owners

If you own livestock in Australia — whether it’s a small herd or a handful of animals — understanding chemical certification is one of those things that might seem complicated, but it’s absolutely essential.

The way you handle animal treatments, pest control, and even everyday sprays has a big impact on food safety, animal welfare, and your farm’s reputation. That’s why the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program exists, helping everyone stay on the same page and maintain trust in Australia’s red meat industry.

As the LPA puts it: “LPA (Livestock Production Assurance) certification requires producers to demonstrate safe and responsible chemical use in livestock management, including proper storage, application, and documentation of all treatments. This ensures food safety and animal welfare, and underpins the integrity of the red meat industry.” Pretty important, right?

So, What Does Chemical Certification Involve? In short, having the right chemical certification means you’ve been trained to: 
✅ Store animal treatments safely​
✅ Apply chemicals correctly, with the right equipment and methods​
✅ Record every treatment so you can prove your animals are healthy and your meat is safe​
✅ Protect the environment from chemical runoff or drift​
✅ Keep yourself and others safe

In most parts of Australia, you’ll need a chemical user certificate (often from a ChemCert or similar course) if you’re buying or applying agricultural chemicals, even if you only have a small number of animals.

Why Bother? Besides meeting legal requirements, getting certified has real benefits:
🌿 Protects your animals — correct dosing and application help them stay healthy. Protects the environment by avoiding overuse and contamination​
🌿 Protects your business — certified producers have better market access​
🌿 Protects your family — safe handling of chemicals matters to everyone on the property

How to Get Started 👉 Check out a local ChemCert course or a recognised chemical user program​ 👉 Keep your records neat and up to date​ 👉 Make sure you understand the labels and safety data sheets for all products you use​ 👉 Stay in the loop with updates to LPA rules

Wrapping Up. Even hobby farmers or lifestyle block owners can make a big difference by doing the right thing with chemical use. It’s not just about ticking boxes — it’s about protecting the animals, the land, and Australia’s well-earned reputation for producing safe, high-quality meat.

If you want to dig deeper, we’ve put together a helpful resource here:​
👉 Chemical Certification and Livestock
Happy (and safe) farming! 🐑

📧 For help getting started or workshop enquiries, get in touch anytime.

Kind Regards,​
Amanda Burchmann​
Livestock Production & Industry Development Specialist​
Founder | Advocate | Producer​
📞 0408 847 536​
📧 [email protected]
 🌐 www.jabagrisolutions.com.au

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