FLYING PIZZA
TOWNSVILLE has not got drone delivery services – yet.
But that doesn’t mean they are not coming.
Wing Aviation already operates drone delivery services at Logan in Queensland and in the ACT.
I asked the people at Wing this week if they had Townsville in their sights
“While we don’t have plans to expand our service to Townsville right now, we’re always open to conversations with Australian communities who could benefit from drone delivery. Given the positive feedback to our service in Queensland we are looking forward to bringing our service to more communities,” a spokesperson said.
One major food retailer I contacted said it was in the process of conducting trials in large capacity loads overseas and was keen to look at setting up operations in Queensland.
Whether Townsville gets a tap on the shoulder remains to be seen.
The RAAF presence and the proximity of the airport to the city might preclude Townsville from such a service, but real estate companies can put up drones to take photos of homes and units being listed, why not have drones delivering pizzas and six packs?
I asked drone expert Jackie Dujmovic of Hover UAV Drone Systems Management in Brisbane if food delivery by drone had any chance of getting off the ground in Townsville.
Long story short, if it happens it will be later rather than sooner.
Yes, the airport would be a consideration, but in order to respect that air space there could be demarcation boundaries where drones could and could not fly.
And as for drones used by real estate companies and drones used to deliver food, there is a big difference.
Drones employed by real estate companies fly in visual line of sight to the operator whereas drones delivering food across suburbs are flown beyond line of sight.
The pilot guiding the real estate drone can see if there are people on the ground or if there are other aircraft around, but the person steering the long distance food delivery drone cannot see what is in or under the airspace wherever the machine happens to be.
So, if you’re dreaming that pretty soon you’ll be able dial-a-drone to deliver a pizza and a six pack of your favourite brewski to your back deck, start counting sheep and go
back to sleep.
So, if you’re dreaming that pretty soon you’ll be able dial-adrone to deliver a pizza and a six pack of your favourite brewski to your back deck, start counting sheep and go back to sleep.
GOOD CANE SEASON
IT’S not just beef producers who are experiencing the best ever prices for their cattle.
Sugarcane growers well are in the money.
Sugar has been selling now for around $615/tonne, well up from lows of $300/ tonne that have come and gone over the past 20 years. These figures might help put into perspective just how good it is for growers right now.
Cane farmers are never slow to tell you when prices are too low. as
When it comes to payment, generally speaking, a $400/tonne return for sugar would be taken as a personal insult by farmers.
At that price they could well be operating under the cost of production, which means they are going down that same chute used for the disposal of animal excrement.
Sugarcane growers are used to highs and lows. The price rocked up to $650/tonne in 2011 and 2016, but in 2018 it sank to $310/tonne.
Burdekin grower Ben Nielson forward sold his cane at a slightly lower price than $615/tonne sugar equivalent, but says this is a great year for cane growers.
Ben says 2022 should be just as good and for that matter 2023 isn’t looking too shabby, either.
Out from 2023 the crystal ball starts to become foggy.
Wilmar, which owns eight sugarcane processing mills between Sarina and Ingham, is the Big Kahuna in the industry in Queensland.
It is looking at a rosy couple of years ahead for the industry, given the opportunity to lock in positive forward prices.
Wilmar’s Sugar Australia’s general manager marketing, David Burgess, said the current price was a four-year high.
“We’re seeing prices above $600/ tonne, which haven’t been achievable since the 2016 and 2017 seasons,” he said.
“We’ve certainly seen plenty of occasions over the past decade when prices dropped below $A400 a tonne, so this upturn is very welcome.”
Burgess said growers across Wil
mar’s milling regions were taking advantage of the spike.
“So far this season, our growers have achieved an average forward price of over $A500 and top price of $620 a tonne.
“We’ve also seen growers achieving prices of up to $A555 tonne for the 2022 season,” Mr Burgess said.
CATTLE UP TOO
ON the beef front, stock and station agent Jack Burgess from Blackall says that for beef producers “it’s definitely the best market ever”.
Fat bullocks are bringing $4.10kg, which means a single beast can sell for as much as $2500 to $3000.
Light stores (lighter cattle bought for fattening) are in big demand from southern producers who were forced
to sell their herds during the long drought from late 2017 to early this year.
Most places south from the Darling Downs through NSW and into Victoria are now out of drought and this is what is driving the massive demand for cattle.
These people now have plenty of grass but no cattle to eat it.
Hence, the demand for cattle. Light steers that can be fattened and sold as bullocks are fetching $4kg or up to $1200 to $1500 a beast.
It wasn’t long ago cattlefolk were happy to get $500 for this class of animal.
Jack Burgess doesn’t see demand waning anytime soon.
“It will take a while for numbers to brew back up,” he said.