Grain & Fertiliser
Gossip
by Graham Henderson
Grain Gossip UK spot feed wheat prices have firmed since last month by £3/t to £167/t ex-farm in East Anglia, and feed barley has dropped away to £152/t for the same movement month. Milling wheat is at a premium of around £8/t for full spec samples. Confusion created by the UK/EU disputes on Brexit continues to have an effect on prices across Europe and beyond. Russia was slowing down on wheat exports, probably because of lower production and therefore availability. However it recently took an Egyptian order which normally goes to the USA. China has expanded its buying sources of wheat no doubt in relationship to the trading battle with the USA and less availability from Australia. One country to benefit from this is Canada. It has increased sales to China by around 0.5mt over the past season. Overall it seems that confusion reins across 6
Source: AHDB/HGCA
Spot Global Grain Prices LIFFE feed wheat
185
CBOT wheat CBOT maize
165
£ per tonne
145
125
105
world trading due to political activity and lower production from the 2018 harvest. It is difficult to find a home for old crop malting barley at the moment but there is probably little left unsold. With the problems surrounding Brexit it is difficult to fix forward market prices and this is exacerbated by the likelihood of a 25 per cent increase in French spring barley drillings.
Fertiliser Fragments Urea remains competitive against ammonium nitrate (AN) and the price is being assisted by further demands from India. Competition from imports in the AN market has forced CF to reduce Nitram down to imported AN prices – a reduction of £10–£15 to the mid £280s – as CF is determined to dominate the market and keep imports out. The company continues to be a very aggressive seller. NS products have followed this trend. As always, at this time of the year, buyers are reluctant to commit but those that are wise will take advantage of this price battle. Time will soon be upon us for first applications on OSR and wheat. As I stated last month, a rush on purchases late on could well cause transport problems.
Rugby Ramblings The lack of success of English clubs in the European (Heineken) Cup is clear, with only Saracens qualifying for the last eight. Three Irish teams, two Scottish teams and two French teams making up the balance. It is now consecutive years that only one English team has reached the last eight and this must have been a great disappointment for Eddie Jones with the Six Nations soon to be contested. In fact, by the time you read this the first, and one of the eagerly awaited clashes – England versus Ireland – will have been played. The only major aspect that Jones has to lean on is that he appears to have a large number of players to choose from. It is particularly important
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At last we have seen some traditional winter weather with sharp frosts across the country and snowfall in northern areas. One of the benefits is to quietly kill off bugs both over and underground. Crops are generally in good order and I think growers are reasonably happy with current growth of winter-drilled grain. Frosts should also put the soil in good heart for spring crop drillings. As the Government wrangles on with “B”, the NFU predicts a bleaker future day by day. Some of its six principles include avoiding a “no deal”; maintaining a seasonal workforce; ensuring as much free trade with European countries as possible and implementing an agricultural policy that continues to support food production. The independent grain trader Gleadell Agriculture is to be bought out by Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM). The company was 50 per cent owned by ADM and 50 per cent by a French co-operative, and ADM has bought the co-operative’s shares. The purchase includes the seed company Dunns, currently wholly owned by Gleadell. The new company will be merged with Arkady, already owned by ADM, to create ADM Agriculture as a new trading organisation. There will no doubt be an interesting battle to see who gets which roles. Rarely do I talk about farm livestock in this column but I believe that we can all remember the effect of swine fever across the country, and a current African strain is moving across Europe at a very fast rate. Prevalent now in Eastern Europe it has recently taken hold in Belgium. This is now getting too close for comfort and pig producers are warned of the specific danger of using catering or domestic food waste of any sort. It can be transmitted through both domestic and wild boar herds.
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Putterings
graham@henders.biz
that four important individuals who have been off with injuries – the Vunipola brothers, Joe Launchbury and Manu Tuilagi are now all back fit. There is one worry about the fitness of Owen Farrell, currently out of action, and I hope that it is not a major problem. With all these players to choose from it will be interesting to see what type of game Jones decides to play against the Irish who are England’s major rivals this season. Will it be quick ball and out to the wings or a game dominated by forwards? Whatever system he decides to play will be evident from the team selection. Call me on 07979 537777; or e-mail: graham@henders.biz to talk about selling grain or buying your fertiliser requirements.
- Balanced advice and quality service Graham Henderson N.D.A.
07979 537777 or 01394 286613 email: graham@henders.biz Talk m to grain e for sal Direct buying agent for pfertiliseers & u r c hase all combinable crops s
specialising in malting barley and other grains for Muntons Malt.
Direct selling agent for fertilisers trading UK solid, liquid and suspension fertiliser from UK producers and imported nitrogen.
63043
www.farmersguide.co.uk February 2019
1-25 Feb.indd 6
29/01/2019 10:16