Feb 1, 2018 - Red Diesel. 56.27p/ ... CBOT soya back in late December but how long before ... as many hectares of winter
Agri-
your monthly roundup of news, prices and other farming matters
Facts
[email protected]
February 2018
Contact Tom Heathcote 01858 410200
Month (ex-farm) Midlands
Feed Wheat
Feed Barley
Oilseed Rape
Currency
Feb 2018
£130-140/t
£125-135/t
£282-287/t
£/€ = 1.1346
May 2018
£132-140/t
£127-135/t
£284-290/t
€/£ = 0.8812
Nov 2018
£132-140/t
£118-125/t
£287-290/t
$/£ = 0.7108
Milk Data
Av Monthly Price
UK Farmgate Milk Price Fuel/Straw/Silage
31.66p/litre
Price
Fertiliser
Price
56.27p/litre
34% N AN (bags UK) £/tonne
£242.00/t
Big Sq baled wheat straw
£83.00/tonne
0:24:24 blend (bags) £/tonne
£260.00/t
Big bale hay
£70.00/tonne
20:10:10 blend (bags) £tonne
£260.00/t
Red Diesel
Finished Steers
Finished Lambs
Finished Pigs
358.8
413.0
145.6 (SPP)
p/kg dwt
Market Commentary: This month’s commentary is provided by Openfield At the time of writing UK grain markets are slipping to the lower end of their range, on a firmer Pound or should that be a weaker US Dollar? Either way globally markets are fundamentally looking for new news, but here lies the problem, there is very little. The markets await a weather issue in South America to see if it can influence the global soya and corn markets by creating some urgency for the US funds to change their current positions. The funds have been short CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) wheat futures and corn since August and more recently started to short CBOT soya back in late December but how long before something encourages them to change tack? Early estimates of crop areas and numbers are being released from various analysts but again there is nothing too shocking, so far. The US winter wheat area is currently anticipated to be marginally smaller than last year making it another historical low and a 25% drop in area from the 2013 high. If the US doesn’t grow as many hectares of winter wheat and the spring wheat area remains as dry as it is currently, there could be some interesting questions around the US exportable numbers next season. Another question that will also be asked many times, is can Russia replicate last year’s 85 million tonne crop? Growing conditions remain close to normal but can yield perform again? Russia’s crop in 2013/2014 was just over 52 million tonnes giving an exportable surplus of 18.6 million tonnes compared to this year’s 35 million tonnes. The first estimates for the EU crop also look to show a drop in planted area due to poor drilling conditions in and around the Baltic States but with a slightly better yield, and with fingers crossed that Spain doesn’t repeat last year’s dry conditions, then the EU crop may also be similar to last years.
Something must change but currently the UK is priced to neither import or export wheat and with maize values also not looking very exciting, the only commodity that may fill the ports in the coming months looks to be barley. Barley demand globally looks to be picking up with EU ports loading for many destinations. Global barley tends to be cyclical with the main shippers taking it in turn to provide cargoes for the 2 main global suppliers – Saudi and China. The UK currently looks unlikely to see Saudi ships this year due to domestic pricing and the increase in barley in animal feeds but small feed shipments heading to Spain are likely to remain a feature as is malting barley to Northern EU and maybe the odd larger ship to North Africa. Confidence in the size of the global OSR crop and Australia’s continued ability to ship to the EU seems to have kept prices under pressure. The markets could change if the South American soya crop doesn’t perform as currently anticipated and as such, trade is likely to remain hand to mouth. The price spread between soya and OSR has narrowed reflecting the confidence in OSR supply but uncertainty in the biodiesel sector will continue to need monitoring. Closer to home the UK OSR balance sheet looks to have little to trade around, having imported close to 140 thousand tonnes in the first few months of the crop year, leaving an almost square balance sheet. Cecilia Pryce Head of Research
fishergerman.co.uk
LEADER funding Grants are available for local businesses, communities, farmers, foresters and land managers for projects that create jobs, help a business to grow and benefit the rural economy. The grants are administered by Local Action Groups (LAGs), who decide which projects they will fund depending on their priorities, which are to:
NEWS
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Grants Update:
• • • • •
Countryside Stewardship – applications open November 2017 the Government announced introductions of four streamlined packages of options tailored around different farm types. The application window has now opened and this follows talks by Defra secretary Michael Gove at the Oxford Farming Conference that the current mid and high-tier CSS have proved challenging. The 4 new offers are:
support micro and small businesses and farm diversification boost rural tourism increase farm productivity increase forestry productivity provide rural services provide cultural and heritage activities
Further information is provided by each LAG, and a map of approved groups can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rural-development -programme-for-england-leader-funding Please contact us for further information.
Arable Offer Lowland Grazing Offer Mixed Farming Offer Upland Offer
Hedgerow and Boundary Grants – applications open
Defra is hoping the main selling points of its simplified offers are: •
Quicker and easier applications
•
Anyone who makes a valid application will be guaranteed an agreement (unlike mid and higher-tier CSS, which are competitive)
•
Less daunting – farmers pick from a list of 7-14 management options, rather than the full list of 130
•
Agreements can be based on as few as three options
Maximum number of options a farmer can implement is 14. The deadline to request a paper application pack is 31 May 2018 The final deadline for applications to be submitted is 31July 2018
Under Countryside Stewardship grants of up to £10,000 are available for farmers and land managers to restore existing farm boundaries such as hedgerows and stone walls. Land managers can choose from 12 different options, which include payments for hedge laying, gapping up, coppicing or bank and stone wall repairs. The application window closes 30 April 2018. Please feel free to contact us if you would like further information.
Download our rural app here
Online Arable Offer application window opens 20 February 2018
Key Dates Date
android
Regulation
ios
Description
1 Feb 2018
Cross compliance
You can apply organic manure with a high readily available nitrogen content (for example, slurry, poultry manures or liquid digested sewage sludge) to grassland and tillage land on all soil types from this date if conditions are suitable and you adhere to the quantity restrictions for application of these manures.
15 Feb 2018
ELS/HLS/CSS
Overwinter stubble can be returned to farm rotation.
28 Feb 2018
Cross compliance
End of the quantity restrictions for application of organic manures with a high readily available nitrogen content.
1 March 2018
Cross compliance
You must not cut or trim hedges or trees from this date, but you can carry out hedge and tree coppicing and hedge laying from 1 March until 30 April.
Fisher German is a limited liability partnership, registered in England and Wales. Registered number: OC317554 Registered office: 40 High Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE167NX Regulated by RICS Fisher German LLP has tried to ensure accuracy and cannot accept liability for any errors, fact or opinion. Please do not use this as all the advice needed to make decisions.
