This year has seen above-average rainfall across the Western Plains, allowing crops to flourish and making way for a bumper harvest. In beef and lamb markets, records continue to be broken by the world’s insatiable hunger for Australian meat. Strong prices in wool and cotton markets are following suit. Land prices continue to skyrocket. Never has there been a more appropriate use of the phrase agricultural ‘boom’. 

While Covid-19 has brought too many industries to their knees, the agriculture industry has defied the odds of economic uncertainty and provided a buffer to local economies through increasing spending and new job opportunities. 

According to the latest quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, confidence in the Australian farm sector is at its highest in the survey's history following positive seasonal conditions and exceptionally high-commodity prices. 

Rabobank Australia CEO Peter Knoblanche said the current conditions for agriculture are ‘near perfect’, with the Rural Commodity Price Index at its highest level in the index’s 12-year history. 

“Optimism is being underpinned by the fact that the main factors driving commodity pricing higher are forecast to hold until at least the end of the year,” Mr Knoblanche said. 

According to the survey, it’s an optimism that is unmatched and unheard of in the industry, with only four per cent of those surveyed expecting conditions to weaken in the coming 12 months. 

The positive season isn’t only restoring local economies but giving a chance for local populations to revive themselves. 

“This is a really formative period for family-farming enterprises, because consecutive years of good returns encourage young family members to return to the land, and it enables good succession planning to take place, which is often not possible during drought years,” Mr Knoblanche said. 

The growing employment opportunities in the agriculture industry – so much so that harvest is seeing a shortage of workers – has allowed the Western Plains and other agricultural areas to lead the state in its employment recovery after NSW lost almost a quarter of a million jobs to lockdowns this year. 

According to Orana Regional Development Australia Director Megan Dixon, jobs that were lost in the drought have returned, creating even more opportunities for job seekers. 

“During the drought, a lot of farm workers transitioned into mining. But now that we have both those industries pumping at the same time, our demand for labour increases and so does the competition for labour between industries,” Ms Dixon said. 

Mr Knoblanche said that farmers are making the most of current conditions by reinvesting in their businesses to make them more productive and efficient. 

According to survey results, three-quarters of farmers intend to increase investment plans to spend on infrastructure, while half intend to purchase new machinery or equipment. 49 per cent of those investing plan to increase stock numbers as a priority. 

Suffice to say, the industry hasn’t escaped completely free from Covid-19, with shipping delays and container costs affecting access to resources like chemicals and machinery parts, and state and international border closures impacting the strength of the workforce. 

Perhaps the most unexpected hit to farmers was the unavailability of the commonly used stock medication Ivermectin, where the stock was depleted by misinformed Australians in an attempt to cure and prevent cases of Covid-19. 

Characterised by its resilience, the industry is deserving of the rare experience of so many commodities soaring at once. 

“These are great times for Australian agriculture. This is a defining period for our industry, and one which will pave the way for our sector for many years to come,” Mr Knoblanche said.