Milling wheat premiums have dropped sharply this week, as good quality new crop becomes available.

With wheat harvest now under way across much of the country, the first samples appear to be promising, with bold grains and reasonable protein levels.

“Proteins are variable, but so far are better than last year, at about 13.1%,” said Simon Ingle, head of central stores marketing at Openfield. “But Hagbergs are not awfully robust, at 270-280, and I don’t know if the crop is going to be very resilient to weathering if the weather does turn poor as is forecast.”

Group One premiums had narrowed from an average of £22 a tonne to just over £15/t over the past week, and premiums for early daily movement of feed wheat had disappeared, said Mr Ingle. “But if wet weather sets in the early and milling premiums could re-establish and find a degree of support.”

Oilseed rape values had also dropped due to harvest pressure, with many farmers reporting record yields, said Openfield’s OSR trader Peter Hall. “A lot of crops are averaging 5t/ha (2t/acre), and oil contents are also high, at 44.5% to 45.5%.” As Farmers Weekly went to press on Wednesday, rapeseed was pegged at £361/t ex-farm for harvest movement – more than £7 down on the week.

For more news see our dedicated Harvest Highlights web pages.