Across Rural Australia: Markets, Risk and Opportunity | August 2026
Twelve months ago we started as one person, with one standard: Be Better. Today Bullagreen is a growing team working across Finance, Consulting and People, bringing the team's combined experience together from the farm gate to the boardroom, across banking, consulting, government, and even time supporting defence.
We did not set out to be another broker chasing a settlement, or another consultant with a template and a "she'll be right" answer. We set out to be the advisor rural and regional Australia can actually rely on: the ones who show up, stay in the room, and carry a decision through to the outcome, not just to the signature.
Our clients and connections now stretch from the top of Queensland, through New South Wales, into Victoria, and across to South Australia. The team has grown. The reach has grown. Who we show up for, and why, has not.
Every file, every fact find, every credit paper and every conversation this year has come back to the same ethos: work with people, solve real problems, add genuine value, and deliver outcomes that others miss. That is what "Be Better" means in practice, and it is the standard we are holding ourselves to for year two.
Thank you to every client who has trusted us with decisions that matter. We do not take that lightly, and we are just getting started.
One outcome from July
One example of what that looks like in practice: this July, one of our agribusiness clients completed a bank pricing tender, run alongside a Bullagreen ESG review covering WHS, HR, and the environmental footprint of the business's own input use. That combined position, not a finance number on its own, was what carried the outcome: pricing and terms locked in for the full five year tenor of the loan renewal, the cost of the work recovered within the first interest roll, the right relationship manager put in place, and every adviser around the client aligned to the same plan.
5 yrs Tenor Locked In | $200k+ Annual Savings | Invested Costs Recovered 1 Interest Roll |
The alternative on the table for that client was a broker offering a lower headline rate for year one only, with no visibility on what happened after that, and a sizeable non-refundable commitment fee requested before any work had been done. That approach treats the client as a transaction. Ours treats them as a client for the life of the facility, and the savings this client is carrying, in excess of $200,000 annually, are holding for the full five years rather than one teaser year.
A separate client this year gives a useful comparison point. A competing broker quoted rates achieved for other clients as proof of its strength in the market, but those rates were 0.50 percentage points higher than some of our best outcomes elsewhere, and only 0.01 percentage points better than the rate this client was already paying. Price on its own, in other words, was not delivering meaningful value. That competitor also offered none of the additional work we build in around the finance outcome. This client is on track for a similar savings result to the one above, alongside separate work to confirm their pastoral award rates are correct and to work through the accommodation and board arrangements the business is currently managing. We do not publish client names, but we are glad to talk through either approach with any client thinking through their own refinance, renewal, or workforce compliance position.
01 On The Ground |
Congratulations, Darryl and Anthea Congratulations to Darryl Lidgard and Anthea on the arrival of their son, Owen, at the end of July. Wonderful news for the family and for the whole Bullagreen team, and in line with our recent LinkedIn post welcoming him.
Out and about with clients Max attended the Knowla Bull Sale on Friday (knowlalivestock.com.au), catching up with clients and contacts in the stud cattle space. Over the weekend, Bullagreen was proud to support the Nyngan Ag Expo as a sponsor, a great event to be part of and a great chance to catch up with clients who came along.
James at the Australian Cotton Conference James is in the room this week at the Australian Cotton Conference, meeting with growers, agronomists, and the banking and advisory network that surrounds the cotton sector. Conversations from the floor will feed directly into how Bullagreen supports cotton growing clients through the season ahead.
Forward calendar “Less Guesswork, More Groundwork” is a practical one-day workshop series for farming businesses, with sessions in Coolah (25 August), Narromine (26 August) and Coonamble (27 August). Hear practical insights on finance, business, livestock and drought planning from an experienced line-up of industry speakers, including James Brouff and Max Laurie. |
02 Season Outlook: Rainfall |
The Bureau of Meteorology's August to October outlook, issued in late July, points to an increased chance of below average rainfall (40 to 70 percent chance of unusually low falls) across parts of south-east and south-west Australia, including areas already carrying long-term rainfall deficiencies. For north-west Australia and the interior, the outlook runs the other way, with a 60 to 80 percent chance of above average rainfall, strongest later in the season.
The Bureau's most recent Drought Statement confirms rainfall deficiency areas are already favoured to expand across north-eastern NSW and south-eastern Queensland through to September, layered on top of 36-month rainfall totals that sit in the lowest 30 percent on record across parts of the west and south-west.
Murray-Darling Basin storage levels remain below last year's mark, which is worth factoring into irrigation and allocation planning conversations now rather than mid-season. |
Status: Seasonal outlooks are probabilistic, not a forecast of certainty. Confirm district-level detail with the Bureau of Meteorology or your Bullagreen adviser before making planting or stocking decisions. |
03 Livestock Producer Insights |
MLA's most recent market wrap points to a lift in confidence across most livestock categories, driven by rain in supply regions and tighter competition at the yards. The picture by species: |
918c/kg EYCI, cwt (+3%+ wk) | Widening Restocker/Feeder Premium |
Cattle The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator recovered strongly, rising to 918c/kg cwt, up more than 3 percent on the week, as smaller yardings in north-east NSW and the Central Tablelands lifted prices across most categories. The Western Young Cattle Indicator moved in the same direction. The restocker to feeder buyer premium has widened again, a sign that confidence is returning to the herd rebuild story as rain falls across key supply regions.
Sheep and lamb All sheep and lamb indicators firmed this week, supported by tighter supply and the same return of restocker confidence seen in cattle. Slaughter volumes across all species are running ahead of year ago levels, and continued strength in lamb export demand is underpinning the current flock position both on farm and in trade terms.
Goats Goat slaughter volumes have continued to soften, tracking a similar pattern to the broader cattle and sheep markets on price, but from a smaller and tighter supply base. Producers with goats in the system should keep an eye on how export competition into key Asian markets moves through spring.
Pigs Australian Pork Limited's Eyes and Ears reporting shows domestic pig prices under pressure, with saleyard values for female pigs easing well below last year's levels as increased imports and stronger competition into Singapore, Australia's largest pork export market, weigh on returns. National production is still forecast to grow modestly in 2026, its fourth consecutive year of growth, but the margin story for producers is tighter than twelve months ago.
Poultry Production settings remain stable across the poultry sector, but biosecurity is the live issue this month rather than price. See the biosecurity update below, which applies directly to poultry producers of every scale. |
Status: Saleyard and indicator prices move week to week. Figures above reflect reporting current at the time of writing. Confirm current pricing with MLA, APL, or your Bullagreen adviser before making a marketing decision. |
04 Biosecurity Update: H5 Bird Flu |
Australia confirmed its first mainland detections of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza in June 2026, in migratory seabirds in Western Australia. As at the most recent Commonwealth update, there are now more than 30 confirmed H5 detections in wild seabirds across Western Australia and South Australia, including greater crested terns tested through CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness on Kangaroo Island and the South Australian coast.
There are, as at the date of this Brief, no confirmed detections in commercial poultry and no signs of mass wildlife die-off. Authorities describe this as a sign the national biosecurity system is working as intended, not a reason to stand down.
What this means on the ground for poultry producers, backyard flock owners, and anyone with birds on the property: • Restrict contact between domestic poultry and wild birds, especially waterfowl, and secure feed and water sources against wild bird access. • Maintain shed access controls, footwear and clothing changes, and cleaning and disinfection routines between sheds or properties. • Do not touch sick or dead birds or other animals. Note the location and report immediately. • Report sick or dead birds, or unusual bird deaths, to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888, available 24 hours. |
Status: This is a developing situation and detection numbers are updated regularly by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Confirm the current position at agriculture.gov.au/campaigns/birdflu or with your vet before making management decisions. |
05 People & Performance: Compliance in Focus |
Regulators are moving together on farm workforces In late July, the Australian Taxation Office, the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Border Force carried out coordinated, unannounced visits to more than fifteen horticulture properties in the Riverina, under a joint compliance operation named Operation Flint. The agencies were checking wage and superannuation payments, payslip accuracy, activity statement and tax return lodgement, and the accuracy of reported business income and expenses. Investigations are ongoing.
The detail that matters for our clients is not the operation itself, it is what it signals. Three separate regulators are now sharing data and running joint site visits rather than working in isolation. For any rural or agribusiness employer, that means a gap in one system, whether it is payroll, super, rostering, or record keeping, is far more likely to surface, and to surface alongside your tax and workforce position at the same time.
What this means for HR and WHS obligations The practical questions worth answering before someone else asks them for you:
• Are wages, penalty rates, allowances and superannuation being paid correctly and on time, with records that would hold up if a payslip or roster were requested on the day. • Are activity statements and income tax returns up to date, and does reported business income match what is actually being paid to staff and contractors. • Is there a current WHS position for the business, including induction, training, and incident records, that a PCBU could point to under section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act. • Where labour hire or seasonal contractors are engaged, is there visibility over who is actually placing workers on the property, and under what arrangement.
None of this requires an overhaul. It requires an honest, current picture, held in one place, that the business can stand behind. That is the starting point of Bullagreen's WHS fact find process, and it is the same standard we apply to our own operations.
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Status: Operation Flint investigations are ongoing and no findings have been made against any specific business. This is general information, not legal or compliance advice for your circumstances. Confirm your specific obligations with SafeWork NSW, the Fair Work Ombudsman, or your Bullagreen adviser. |
Job Safe Pro and HazSafe Solutions: first onboarding complete Bullagreen's partnership with HazSafe Solutions and the Job Safe Pro platform has delivered its first completed client onboarding this quarter, taking a client from an initial WHS fact find through to a live, working safety management system covering inductions, toolbox records, and incident reporting. Several further onboardings are now in progress. The outcome we are tracking is a simple one: a client who could not previously produce a current WHS position on request now can, in minutes rather than days. That is the practical answer to everything raised above, and it is available across farm, agribusiness, and off-farm operations through the same fact find process.
Behind the scenes: the Bullagreen platform build David Thomson's work building Bullagreen's own internal platform is now in trial with two clients, bringing together asset registers, finance and facility data, property information, and management records into one working view. The trial is currently supporting a live acquisition for one of those clients, and early feedback from both the clients involved and their advisers has been positive. The intention is to have this live for all Bullagreen clients across Finance, Consulting and People by the end of the year, giving every client a single point of contact to access their own data and work directly with our key partners and providers, instead of managing several disconnected systems. More to come as the build progresses. |
06 Global Markets, Rates and Money |
This section is new to the Brief from this edition. It is written for both our rural and agribusiness clients and our commercial and business clients, reflecting Bullagreen's growing client base across sectors. Every figure below is drawn from a named public source that you or your adviser can look up directly. This is a factual summary, not a recommendation or a call to action, and it is not personal advice. Where a figure is contested or still moving, we say so. |
4.35% Cash Rate (since 17 Jun) | 3.8% Headline CPI to Jun | 11 Aug Next RBA Decision |
Middle East conflict and oil Renewed fighting between the United States and Iran through July has kept oil markets volatile. Brent crude traded above US$88 a barrel in the final week of July, on track for a monthly gain of more than 20 percent, after an earlier de-escalation had briefly pushed prices back toward pre-conflict levels. Strait of Hormuz shipping and Red Sea security remain contested, and Goldman Sachs has suggested Brent could moderate toward US$80 by year end only if the Strait fully reopens. (Sources: Al Jazeera and CNBC market reporting, 28 to 31 July 2026.)
Domestic inflation, in detail Headline CPI eased to 3.8 percent in the 12 months to June 2026, down from 4.0 percent in May. The trimmed mean, the RBA's preferred underlying measure, held steady at 3.6 percent. The headline figure is being pulled down by a sharp fall in automotive fuel prices (down 10.9 percent in June) as the Middle East situation stabilised temporarily and fuel excise relief remained in place. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, CPI release, 29 July 2026.)
The detail matters more than the headline. Housing costs rose 6.8 percent over the year, the largest single contributor to inflation, with electricity up 22.4 percent following the expiry of Commonwealth and state electricity rebates. Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Recreation and culture each rose 3.3 percent. In other words, several of the cost categories households and businesses feel most directly are running at close to double the headline rate, even as the headline number itself eases. That gap between the headline print and the cost of essentials is the more useful number for planning purposes than the 3.8 percent figure on its own. (Source: ABS CPI release, 29 July 2026.)
On wages, the ABS Wage Price Index rose 3.3 percent over the twelve months to the March 2026 quarter. Measured against annual CPI of 3.8 to 4.0 percent over the same broad period, real wages growth has been close to flat over the past year. We are not aware of a single authoritative figure for the cumulative loss in purchasing power since 2020, and would treat any specific cumulative percentage with caution until it can be sourced to the ABS or RBA directly. What is verifiable is that annual inflation has outpaced annual wage growth in most of the years since 2021, and that the gap has been widest in housing-related and energy costs specifically. (Source: ABS Wage Price Index and CPI releases.)
The RBA and interest rates The cash rate has been held at 4.35 percent since 17 June 2026, following three 0.25 percentage point increases earlier in the year (February, March and May). The next decision is 11 August 2026. Following the softer than expected June CPI print, all four major banks now expect a hold in August, though several economists have not ruled out a further move later in the year if the Middle East conflict feeds through to fuel and freight costs. (Sources: RBA Cash Rate Target page; CommBank, ANZ and NAB public economic commentary, 29 to 31 July 2026.)
Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock, speaking at the Anika Foundation lunch in Sydney on 28 to 29 July, said the economy is cooling as anticipated but that it remains unclear whether current settings are sufficient to return inflation to target, and that financial conditions are "a bit" on the restrictive side. The tone was read by market economists as leaning cautious rather than signalling an imminent move either way. (Source: RBA speech transcript and Bloomberg reporting, 28 to 29 July 2026.)
Fuel excise and what it means for fuel tax credits Fuel excise has moved through three different settings this year, and each change has flowed through to Fuel Tax Credit rates. From 1 April to 30 June 2026, excise was cut by 60.9 percent. From 1 July to 2 August 2026, the cut stepped down to a 30.4 percent reduction. From 3 August 2026, excise returns to the full indexed rate. (Source: Australian Taxation Office, Excise duty rates for fuel and petroleum products.)
For any business claiming Fuel Tax Credits, this matters directly. The credit rate that applies is tied to the excise rate in force at the time the fuel was acquired, not the rate in force when the credit is claimed. Businesses receiving fuel deliveries that straddle 30 June, 2 August, or 3 August should confirm with their supplier which excise rate was built into each delivery lot before finalising BAS claims for the relevant period. Getting this wrong in either direction, claiming too much or too little, is a straightforward but easy to miss error given three rate changes in five months.
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Status: Market prices, cash rate expectations, and RBA commentary can change quickly and the figures above reflect the position at the time of writing. This is general information only and does not consider your individual circumstances. Confirm current settings with your bank, the RBA, or your Bullagreen adviser before making a financial decision, and confirm fuel tax credit rates on specific deliveries with the ATO or your accountant. |
07 Tax and Structuring: What Is Changing |
Discretionary trust minimum tax — where it stands The 30 percent minimum tax on discretionary trusts announced in the May Budget is not yet law. Exposure draft legislation has still not been released, and the measure remains subject to consultation. The confirmed start date is 1 July 2028, later than earlier reporting suggested, with a three-year rollover relief window opening from 1 July 2027 for families who want to restructure out of a discretionary trust without triggering CGT or duty.
The most significant recent development is a government clarification on 18 June 2026 that income from all genuine testamentary trusts, including discretionary ones, will be exempt from the minimum tax. Primary production income also sits outside the regime under the current design. This is a meaningfully better position for farming families than the original Budget announcement implied, but the detail is not locked in until the exposure draft lands.
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Status: This measure is announced, not legislated. Do not restructure trusts, wills, or succession plans on the basis of this update alone. Confirm current status and how it applies to your structure with your accountant or lawyer, and loop in your Bullagreen adviser on the practical implications. |
Why the conversation with your adviser matters We see the same pattern play out across client files in different forms: a business decision moves faster than the paperwork behind it, and the accountant, lawyer, or financial adviser ends up finding out after the fact rather than before it. None of the following are about any one person or firm doing the wrong thing. They are about what happens when advice, structure, and decisions do not stay in sync.
• A structuring recommendation made by one adviser was relayed through several people before it reached the client, and by the time it did, the detail had shifted from what was actually said. Getting advice confirmed in writing, directly from the adviser who gave it, closed the gap quickly. • A change of professional adviser, handled well, meant a client moved to a firm better suited to the complexity of their structure without losing momentum on a live transaction, because the transition was planned rather than reactive.
The common thread is not a failure of advice. It is the value of a direct, current conversation between the client and every adviser in their corner, accountant, lawyer, financial adviser, and Bullagreen, before a decision is made rather than after. We do not provide tax, legal, or structuring advice, and we never will. What we do is make sure our clients are asking the right questions of the right people, at the right time, so decisions with long term consequences are made with full information. |
Get In Touch |
James Brouff, Founder & Group Managing Partner For complex agribusiness finance, funding structures, expansion, succession finance, investment or support coordinating the right advisers around a major business decision.
David Thomson, Partner | Director | Projects, ICT & Analysis For business modelling, operational analysis, systems improvement, project coordination or implementing practical management frameworks.
Max Laurie, Director & Regional Agribusiness For agribusiness analysis, funding preparation, finance coordination or assistance working across accountants, banks and other advisers.
Darryl Lidgard, Associate Director | Asset & Commercial For finance relating to machinery, vehicles, equipment, commercial investments and other business assets, from structuring the application through to settlement.
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Not sure who to contact? Get in touch with the Bullagreen team. We’ll take the time to understand the full picture and connect you with the right person. |
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