Oilseed rape remains one of the most profitable break crops and has a key role to play in the rotation. This is particularly true where there is a black-grass issue due to the ability to use non-resistant chemistry. However, increasing levels of erucic acid are proving problematic. Oilseed rape is an expensive crop to grow so any rejections due to ...

WHEAT Weather drives markets higher again Ongoing weather issues and crop concerns saw world markets surge higher early this week, with French wheat futures hitting 11-month highs. The US hard red winter wheat areas, the Black Sea region, North Eastern Europe and Eastern Australia have continued to be dry with above average temperatures. However, e...

WHEAT  Markets higher World wheat markets have propelled higher this week, fuelled in the most part by weather driven sentiment and political positioning over tariff negotiations between China and the US concerning the supply of agricultural products. Warm weather persists Whilst US winter wheat crops remain under stress and planting condition...

WHEAT Demand quenched by imports The UK domestic market for old crop continued to remain well supported this week for supplies of both feed and quality wheat with the deficit areas of the west and north pulling on remaining supplies. The constraints on road freight availability are hindering trade flows from surplus southern grain areas, to overcom...

This is the new home of Frontrunner - Frontier's weekly grain marketing update. Subscribe to the blog to be notified every time it is published. WHEAT USDA sees lower world wheat and corn stocks next season Yesterday afternoon the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) published their first world supply and demand estimates for 2018/19. The...

Recent dry and warm weather has encouraged oilseed rape crops into full flower and the countryside is dappled with bright, yellow fields. It is easy at this stage to forget about the preceding weather and the impact it has had on managing these crops this year. The relatively warm autumn and early winter meant that soil nitrogen levels were potenti...

 WHEAT Old crop supplies tight in the North We continue to have a north/south divide in our domestic wheat market. We are seeing reasonable supplies in the south of England and heavy demand in the north of England and Scotland but with rapidly diminishing farm stocks in these areas. With no easy way of moving wheat over long distances from sou...

Well, what a change in the weather. Spring has finally sprung after two autumnal weeks. Crops will now begin to move rapidly through their growth stages. The long-range weather forecast shows rain is forecast but in and around some bright sunny weather, allowing growers to finally catch up with their long list of outstanding jobs. The recent weathe...

  WHEAT Russian wheat production set to fall Adverse weather conditions may impact on Russian wheat production for the 2018 harvest.Analysts see a reduced area drilled and lower yields leading to a crop of 72 million tonnes, notably lower than last year's record 85 million tonnes. If realised, this would cut the amount Russia would be able to ...

 WHEAT Complex home trade Domestic UK markets have continued to focus on logistic issues which are now an integral feature and constraining natural trade flows. London wheat futures rose to six-month highs mid-week to levels not seen since 12th October 2017. This prompted greater levels of imported wheat, which also helped the logistics pressu...

WHEAT World round-up US wheat futures fell steadily this week following better forecasts for the drought-stricken Plains. This is good news for winter crops, but only time will tell if it will spell better news for crop ratings which currently sit at a 20-year low. Matif wheat made a five-year high on Monday, following last week's firmer US markets...

While a distant memory, the warm, dry weather of October and November allowed most winter crops to be drilled in fairly good conditions and establish well. It also encouraged mineralisation, producing good levels of nitrogen to aid early growth. In fact, in the run up to Christmas it very much looked like soil nitrogen levels would be higher than n...

Five months on since harvest feels like a good time to review what, if anything, tram lining has added to the armoury when it comes to the management of black-grass.By way of a re-cap, Frontier Agriculture, in collaboration with EW Davies farms Ltd, Rothamsted, AHDB and Primary Sales from Western Australia, installed a 'chaff deck' onto farmer Jere...

All of our 3DThinking sites established well last autumn. As we move further into winter we take a look at some of the headline trials and their performance to date. While the cropping range varies across sites, all are conducting winter wheat trials focused on variety, nutrition, seed treatment and crop protection.   1 Muir of Ord  ...

This week saw the annual publication of the AHDB Recommended List. This year sees a new look to the list with a move back to a one-page wheat round up. This is likely to be welcomed by many of us as it's easier to view, especially if this carries through to the printed version. Welcome new varieties Although wheat varieties are down to one page the...