Rains lift SA farmer confidence

Grain Producers SA chief executive officer Darren Arney said some areas of the state were tracking well although parts of the Mallee, South East and western Eyre Peninsula had missed out.

For those who did get the rain, he estimates the past three weeks added about 1.5 million tonnes to state yield results.

This comes as the Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey reported confidence among SA farmers was at a four-year high.

Rabobank state manager for SA James Robinson said the state had among the highest confidence levels nationally, particularly for those looking to invest.

"For SA, 95 per cent of businesses say they thought they were viable, which is a very high figure and the best of all the mainland states," he said.

"And 92pc expect to increase or maintain their level of investment in the business while 16pc intend to expand by growing their landholdings or getting bigger."

Mr Robinson said timely rain and good commodity prices, particularly for beef and lamb, were key reasons for this rise in confidence.

"It's all looking very positive, if it stacks up the way the season is heading," he said.

"And with commodity prices, it's not surprising to see these figures."

Mr Robinson said most of the survey would have been conducted in July as more consistent rain began to fall, and beef and lamb markets saw prices lift.

"Cattle prices continue to reach new heights with little downside to the outlook," he said.

The survey indicated 90pc of SA farmers expected economic conditions in agriculture to improve or remain similar to 2014, with 40pc of those expecting an improvement - up from 30pc - on the past quarter.

It also showed many farmers reported an increase in productivity in the past five years, helped by on-farm investment, improved genetics and better access to global markets.

Mr Arney said SA farmers were "cautiously optimistic" about the season.

"Overall it is looking like an average season," he said.

"We had a dry June but the rain seemed to be coming at the right time."

He said crop management had been designed to take advantage of the smallest amount of rainfall. The cold winter may have slowed some crop growth and maturation.

"The crops are probably a little bit behind last year with the cold winter but on the 10-year average we are probably in front," Mr Arney said.

"We've had a fairly good run of seasons for the past seven years."