GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel said recent geopolitical disruptions have added pressure to an already difficult operating environment for Australian grain growers.

The comments come as growers continue to face elevated fuel and fertiliser costs linked to the Iran conflict

“We’re really seeing the results of that,” Gawel said.

“You’ve got growers facing already really high production costs at the moment. Everything is costing more.”

Speaking to Agricultural and Sustainability Economist Dennis Voznesenski on the CommBank Agri podcast, Gawel said farmers are weighing up the cost of planting crops amid rising input prices and uncertainty around access to key supplies.

“It has definitely been stressful and anxious times for our growers across Australia,” Gawel said.

Voznesenski said rising production costs were already placing pressure on growers before the conflict escalated.

“We were already seeing slightly rising input costs and now we’re seeing interest rates move up too,” he said.

Impacts differ across regions

GrainGrowers represents more than 15,000 growers nationally, with impacts varying across regions.

“You have towns that haven’t been able to access fuel. You have others where they haven’t been able to get a hold of fertiliser,” Gawel said.

The pressure comes as many growers are making planting decisions for the season ahead.

“They’re doing that against a backdrop of, ‘If I put a crop in, is the price of fuel going to be so prohibitive by the time I’m looking to harvest or not even be able to access it?’” she said.

Some growers are changing cropping programs in response to rising costs.

“Some are looking at actually what type of crops they’re putting in. Are they moving to a less nitrogen-based crop? Are they actually having to make that decision of not putting in a crop at all? Or are they just going to reduce the amount of areas planted this year?” Gawel said.

She said the longer-term impact on grain production remains unclear, but production is likely to be affected this year.

Fertiliser and fuel security in focus

Gawel said the disruptions have reinforced concerns around Australia’s reliance on imported fertiliser and fuel.

“It’s timely to consider food sovereignty here in Australia,” she said.

“We’ve been making a lot of observations for a long time at GrainGrowers about why this is essential, why food has to be a part of the national security conversation.”

“Fertiliser is something that we should have been more across for a long time,” Gawel said. “100 per cent of Australia’s [urea] is imported.”

Industry preparing for future risks

GrainGrowers is also examining longer-term risks facing the industry, including rising production costs and supply vulnerabilities.

Gawel said the organisation is preparing to release new research exploring “grey rhino” events - risks that are visible but insufficiently addressed.

“What is fast approaching you that you might actually see in front of you, but you haven’t actually put in mechanisms to manage or deal with it?” she said.

The organisation said the work is intended to support broader industry discussions around preparedness and resilience.

Gawel said recent government moves to establish domestic fuel stockpiles were a positive step, but more work remains.