Harvest halted by poor weather as markets react to fluctuating currency With the UK wheat harvest underway, our domestic market this week has been dominated by sterling volatility and patchy weather. At the weekend, the new UK Prime Minister signalled the real possibility of a no-deal Brexit which rattled currency markets and caused sterling to dro...

WHEAT Improving French wheat crop prospects Record breaking high temperatures during June were thought to have been damaging for wheat crops across Europe and some analysts have now cut their estimates accordingly. Leading European analysts, Strategie Grains, reported in July that they cut the 2019 EU-28 soft wheat harvest by 2.2 million tonnes to ...

WHEAT ·        Harvestpressure caps prices The Northern Hemisphere wheat harvest is well underway withFrance now as far as 50% complete; poor demand remains a theme. As a result,European markets traded steadily lower as the week progressed, with LIFFENovember futures losing almost £1/t per day. The week began...

With combines already rolling in some areas, conversations across offices, farms, agricultural shows and pubs are ramping up about the yield potential of this year's crop. Harvest conversations between farmers, traders and others always interest me; watching the usual attempts to outdo each other is always an interesting sport. But as someone with ...

WHEAT Expectations for a reduced Russian wheat crop gather momentum Upbeat crop estimates made earlier this year by many analysts estimated that the global wheat power-house, Russia would produce up to 85 million tonnes of wheat this coming harvest, adding bearish weight to markets. However, prolonged dry weather and heat during the spring and earl...

WHEAT Market prices Markets have fallen considerably this week with most business concluded for old crop wheat. However, supplies continued to come forward, knocking farm gate prices by £4 to £6/t for old crop during the week. New crop markets are solely focussed on weather and with parts of the European harvest now underway, eyes will turn to the ...

WHEAT US corn takes a back seat as markets are affected by EU heat wave Global grain markets have recently been underpinned by the disastrous US corn planting and there will remain an air of uncertainty until crops are harvested in the autumn. However, this week wheat markets were supported by factors closer to home as temperatures soared across we...

In my role, I often get asked which events we'll be attending and where customers can catch up with us over the coming months. Our local SOYL colleagues regularly attend and host events up and down the country, sharing expertise and helping customers to make the most of every hectare. Events are a key element of our agricultural calendar and someth...

WHEAT UK wheat trades lower Futures and physical prices lost around £5-£7 this week in the UK. For now, the rains have subsided and a warm, sunny weekend is forecast which is good news for developing wheat crops. Domestic consumers are fairly relaxed as crops with huge potential look set to yield well should the sunshine continue. The same is ...

WHEAT USDA highlights US corn crop woes In their June World Supply and Demand Report published this week the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlighted the impact of the delayed US corn planting as farmers continued their battle against ongoing heavy rain. Due to the adverse weather conditions, US farmers are predicted to plant 3 mi...

Of late, the primary wheat market driver has been the delayed US corn planting. Earlier this week, the trade patiently waited for two sets of data about the situation to help gain a steer on the next likely wheat price movements. The first of these data sets came on Monday evening in the form of the latest weekly US crop report. It put the drilled ...

Much of the grass in Herefordshire, where I am based, suffered during the difficult weather conditions of 2018 and consequently producers should focus on optimising nutrition to restore both quality and yield potential to former levels, with K and S being essential in this process. This season NKS fertilisers containing potash and sulphur alongside...

WHEAT UK wheat markets under pressure Old crop and new crop wheat values made some losses this week. For old crop, consumer cover is relatively high and this week's latest Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) figures confirmed a sizeable 1.98 million tonne carryout which is 266,000 tonne higher than a year ago. The smaller h...

Disastrous planting conditions in the US continue to hamper progress. As of Monday, the reports were of 69% planted compared to the 96% average. It is difficult to quantify total crop losses until the final drilling dates and these vary in each state, however, there is already talk of 8 million acres of Prevented Planting insurance already claimed....

WHEAT US farmers struggle with adverse weather Continued adverse weather which has prevented US farmers from completing their corn crop planting this spring remains the primary world wheat price driver. The speculative funds had built a record short position on the United States Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures market which earlier this m...

Globally, wheat prices have continued to rise on the back of the US corn planting pace. Currently the single market driver, corn planting progress is now at a record low following adverse wet weather. Crops planted at this late stage lose yield potential, with some at risk of not being planted at all. Last night, the United States Department of Agr...

Many people might assume that yield is the best indicator of whether they have got their nitrogen applications right. However, a better indicator is the protein level in the grain. Grain protein Grain protein with optimum nitrogen for yield in feed varieties is consistently about 11% (1.9%N). Bread making varieties optimise for yield at around 12% ...

WHEAT An abundance of old crop Old crop wheat continues to be offered to the market chasing a finite demand. It now seems that most millers and compounders have only the July transition gap to cover. The air of tightness around the UK balance sheet felt by the market some weeks ago has largely disappeared and now the emphasis is to off load supplie...

Remote sensing in agriculture is nothing new. However, with drones gaining more publicity over the last few years, some would argue it has felt somewhat revolutionary all over again. Rather than new sensors, what actually came along were new platforms and all too often it is only these that get the attention. We're all made aware when the latest se...

Tomorrow marks the last trading day for May London futures and, over the last few weeks, we've seen a large volume of futures tendered right the way from Edinburgh to Kent. As such, the added weight of physical grain has pushed prices around £10 lower since the start of the month. Consumers are well aware of this and are therefore in no rush to cov...