Harvest puts focus on tight straw supplies and wheat quality
© Tim Scrivener Yields, protein levels, and straw supplies all remain in doubt for this year’s harvest, with the latest industry estimates forecasting winter wheat down at 7.5t/ha.
Roughly half the GB winter wheat area was cut by mid-August.
Some analysts have forecasted that yields could drop further as harvest progresses.
Quality has been the major concern for flour millers.
Protein levels for Group 1 wheats are coming in low at about 12%.
See also: Origin Fertilisers invests £7.5m in new Tyneside facility
A reduced availability of top specification milling wheat, combined with a smaller harvest area, could help it to hold a reasonable premium over feed wheat in the coming months.
Ex-farm prices collected by Farmers Weekly on 21 August put milling wheat at £233/t, a £59/t premium above feed wheat.
Merchants at Sussex-based grain traders Bartholomew’s said milling wheats of all grades will be the most active markets in coming weeks.
This is due to mills opening up to a new crop supply and starting to actively create their blends.
UK millers are likely to need to import milling wheat from the EU to fill requirements.
However, the EU-27 soft wheat crop has been revised down by Strategie Grains to 116.5m tonnes.
This is more than 10m tonnes below 2023 volumes, which should support domestic prices.
Meanwhile, UK feed wheat futures for the November contract fell to its lowest point since March on 16 August before lifting to £184.55/t by midweek.
Traders at Dewing Grain said for what little demand there is, supply is hard to find.
Disappointing UK wheat yields and low prices are making growers very reluctant to sell unless finance is required.
Straw supplies
Buyers are generally keen to get their hands on straw.
There is little stock held over from last year following the wet winter.
And fewer bales are likely to be available this year due to the smaller harvest area.
However, higher straw prices may encourage some farmers to bale rather than chop straw, which could help to increase supplies.
As harvest progresses, farmers have reported variable straw yields in different regions of the UK.
There is an abundance of straw in parts of the east of England, but lower volumes elsewhere.
The latest harvest report by Andersons and AHDB suggested winter wheat straw yields had been highly variable.
There had also been smaller swaths for winter barley, compounding challenges with availability this season.
Straw merchants say there are large regional differences in prices at the moment.
Ex-farm prices for big square-baled wheat straw this week ranged from £50/t in south-east England to £80/t in parts of Scotland, according to the British Hay and Straw Merchants’ Association.
This is compared with a range of £40-£65/t in the same week last year.
Frontier acquires assets of grain co-operative Fengrain
The assets of grain co-operative Fengrain, including its 93,000t crop storage site in Cambridgeshire, have been acquired by the UK’s largest crop marketing business, Frontier, for an undisclosed sum.
Fengrain and Frontier first partnered in 2019, with Frontier taking over its grain trading and marketing services.
Simon Christensen, Frontier’s grain director, said: “The acquisition of Fengrain is positive news and means we’re able to provide growers with more financial security and grain handling expertise across the east of England.”
Fengrain chairman Richard Means believes the deal has delivered the right result for its members and the future of the store.