GB harvest 2022 89% complete: Grain market daily

• Nov-22 UK feed wheat futures were down £7.10/t over yesterday’s session, closing at £252.90/t. The Nov-23 contract closed at £237.00/t yesterday, a £6.30/t drop from Wednesday’s session.
• Ukrainian exports continue to put pressure on global futures markets, with 25 vessels in total having now left Ukraine as of yesterday (Refinitiv). Traders are also reporting falling export prices for both Ukraine and Russia, as Russia looks to move a bumper harvest.
• Paris rapeseed (Nov-22) lost €11.00/t yesterday, closing at €604.00/t. This followed downward pressure on Malaysian palm oil futures yesterday (Nov-22).
• While improved weather is forecast across the U.S Midwest, strong export demand saw the Nov-22 Chicago soyabeans contract up $5.60/t over yesterday’s session, closing at $516.29/t.

Harvest 2022 has continued at a rapid pace and is nearing completion, with 89% of the GB harvest complete as at 16 August. The five-year average for harvest progress by this point in the season (week 6) is 52%.

Winter wheat GB harvest is estimated to be 92% complete now, with the majority of crop left to be cut in the North East and Scotland.

GB winter oilseed rape (WOSR) harvest is now complete, with the winter barley harvest being completed in week ending 9 August (week 5). Spring barley GB harvest is now 73% complete.

As at 16 August, it was estimated that 79% of the GB oat area had been harvested.

Drought has now been declared in parts of Eastern and South England following weeks of hot and dry weather. The UK average rainfall for the week ending 9 August 2022 was only 7% of the long-term average (1.0 mm compared to 13.4 mm). The South East was the driest region (0.1 mm), whilst Scotland was the wettest (3.8 mm).

The week ending 16 August 2022 saw another heat wave, with amber weather warnings for extreme heat issued. Localised thunderstorms and rain were seen across parts of GB on Monday.

Hot grain has continued to be an issue, with many farmers only having to condition grain to reach cool enough temperatures for safe storage, rather than physically dry the grain. This has enabled many to save on fuel costs by not running the grain drier. The exception has been where grain has been green/unripe and small amounts have needed to be dried.

There has been a continued backlog of grain in stores, as haulage issues remain, due to shortages of suitable lorries and drivers.

The risk of combine and crop fires has been a major stressor for farmers this season, with increased attention to blowing out filters for dust at the end of the day. Farmers have been combining with water bowsers, and tractors with ploughs positioned close by to act in the event of a crop or combine fire.

For more information, read the full report here.

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