Pulling the wool: Why we’re no longer riding on the sheep’s back
Favourable weather patterns have provided record profits in some areas of agriculture but future forecasts are mixed
2 min
Australia is no longer riding on the sheep’s back with nursery cut flowers and turf worth more than wool in the agricultural market, new data has revealed. Once the greatest source of national prosperity, wool now accounts for $3.2 billion in terms of production value compared with $3.4 billion for cut flowers and turf.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) shows that wheat and beef are Australia’s most valuable agricultural commodities, making up one third of all production by value in 2022. Wheat increased by $3.3 billion in 2022, reaching a record high of $13.1 billion while canola and cotton lint more than doubled.
Favourable farming conditions in Australia and, conversely, poorer conditions overseas have boosted the agricultural sector significantly, Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.
“We were producing a lot, while others were producing far less,” she said. “As we came out of the pandemic, people began spending more. The Ukraine conflict further complicated wheat markets.”
The result has lead to total agricultural production in excess of $90 billion and land values almost doubling over the past three years.
While the 2022 results have been welcomed, Ms Conisbee said the future is less certain, with international shifts having potentially positive and negative effects. While wheat production is expected to decline as weather patterns become less favourable, the ongoing war in Ukraine should keep prices up. Rice shortages as a result of a decision by the Indian Government to ban exports of non basmati rice to deal with domestic shortages is expected to have a similar impact on that market.
“This announcement is expected to result in the biggest global rice shortage in 20 years,” Ms Conisbee said. “Similarly to wheat, prices are set to rise. Although Australia is not a major rice producer, it will impact the Riverina in southern NSW where around 75 per cent of Australia’s rice is grown.”
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Odd Culture Group brings a new kind of after-dark energy to the CBD, where daiquiris, disco and design collide beneath the city streets.
Odd Culture Group brings a new kind of after-dark energy to the CBD, where daiquiris, disco and design collide beneath the city streets.
2 minSydney’s nightlife has long flirted with reinvention, but its latest arrival suggests something more deliberate is taking shape beneath the surface.
Razz Room, the new underground bar and disco from Odd Culture Group, has opened in the CBD, marking the group’s first step into the city centre.
Tucked below street level on York Street, the venue blends cocktail culture with a shifting, late-night rhythm that moves from after-work drinks to full dancefloor immersion.
The space itself is designed to evolve over the course of an evening. An upper bar offers a more intimate setting, suited to early drinks and conversation, while a sunken dancefloor anchors the venue’s later hours, with a rotating program of DJs and live performances.
“Razz Room will really change shape throughout a single evening,” says Odd Culture Group CEO Rebecca Lines.
“Earlier, it’s geared towards post-work drinks with a happy hour, substantial food offering, and music at a level where you can still talk.”
As the night progresses, that tone shifts.
“As the evening progresses at Razz Room, you can expect the music to get a little louder and the focus will shift to live performance with recurring residencies and DJs that flow from disco to house, funk, and jazz,” Rebecca says.
The concept draws heavily on New York’s underground club scene before disco became mainstream, referencing venues such as The Mudd Club and Paradise Garage. But the intention is not nostalgia.
“The space told us what it wanted to be,” Lines explains. “Disco started as a counter culture… Razz Room is no nostalgia project, it’s a reimagining of the next era of the discotheque.”
Design, too, plays its part in shaping the experience. The upper level is warm and textural, with timber finishes and burnt-orange tones, while the sunken floor shifts into a more theatrical mood, combining Art Deco references with a raw, industrial edge.
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