GB winter barley and oilseed rape harvests near completion: Grain market daily

• Strong global demand from key importers paired with tight supplies saw some support for global wheat futures yesterday.
• The UK feed wheat (Nov-22) futures contract closed at £266.00/t, gaining £4.50/t from Wednesday’s close. The May-23 contract also saw a £4.50 increase over the same period, to close at £271.00/t yesterday.
• The ongoing concerns of hot and dry weather in parts of the Midwest during their critical growing period is adding support for soyabean futures. The Chicago (Nov-22) futures contract saw a $17.63/t increase over yesterday’s session, closing at $520.88/t.
• The Paris rapeseed (Nov-22) futures contract also gained over the session, closing at €648.50/t, up €15.50/t from Wednesday’s close.

This is the second harvest report of the 2022/23 season and covers the beginning of harvest up to 02 August 2022. This report uses data from all 10 reporting regions. Harvest is nearly complete for winter barley and winter oilseed rape (WOSR) giving confidence in the data presented.

The average UK air temperature dropped for the week ending 26 July 2022 to 17.9°C. This was down 2.1°C from the previous week, but is 1.7°C above the long-term average. Regional average air temperatures ranged from 16.1°C in Scotland to 20.3°C in the Eastern region, with all regions recording temperatures above their long-term averages. The UK average temperature for the previous week (w/e 19th July 2022), was 20.0°C, compared to a long-term average of 16.1°C. Regional average temperatures were recorded between 17.3°C in Scotland and 22.2°C in the South East.

Rainfall has been variable. In week ending 26 July, 12.0mm of rain was recorded, compared with the UK long term average of 14.6mm. The Eastern region was the driest with just 1.2 mm recorded, while the North West was the wettest region with 26.9 mm of rainfall.

Rain has hampered harvest progress for farmers in the western regions of England, Wales and Scotland.

Winter wheat harvest is accelerating, with an estimated 30% of the GB harvest complete.

Winter barley harvest is almost complete at 99%, with just small amounts remaining in the North East and Scotland. Winter barley progress far exceeds recent years, with 2003 being the closest at 96% by week 4 of harvest.    

WOSR harvest has reached completion in many areas, with 84% of the GB WOSR crop harvested.

Grain movement is proving problematic. The rapid and early harvest has put pressure on haulage companies, with the number of lorries and drivers unable to keep up with demand, leading to difficulties getting grain off farm.

For more information, read the full report here.

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