AgriFacts April 2019 Your monthly roundup of news, prices and other farming matters
Livestock Update Cattle Prices - cattle prices continue to decline with no let up since September 2018. A gradual decline of 30 pence per kilo since September has now left producers £120 per head worse off on a 400kg carcass since the autumn. The Great Britain Deadweight average levelled at 336.2p/kg at the end of last week compared to a figure of 357.5p/kg this time last year. The market is currently being over-supplied with producers having greater numbers forward and pushing to reduce in house numbers due to a lack of forage. However wholesale markets remain flat and reports indicate large amounts of red meat has been stockpiled in the event of a no deal Brexit. The level of uncertainty in the future export availability in the market is certainly pushing prices. However, it is thought that as spring arrives cattle numbers coming forward will decrease to relive pressure on the market as they make best use of better grazing availability this year. Store cattle remain firm with buyers still looking and willing to pay for all cattle despite the uncertainty in the prime ring. The grass is growing and finishers are looking to benefit from a better gazing season compared to last year. Store cattle remain at 200p/kg with a marked premium remaining for those with named sires on native bred cattle.
Lamb Prices - towards the end of march, we see a slight improvement in the lamb trade with deadweight quotations sitting at 419p/kg. However still a long way behind the dizzy heights of last year at 511.2p/kg and 27.1p/kg below the 5 year average. However, with Easter being late this year there has been a hold on buyers coming to the market looking for Easter lamb. Despite that it is believed that the trade will turn and further increases are expected. In the market the live markets last weeks SQQ stood at 198.64p/ kg an increase on previous weeks again with more buyers pushing towards the Easter lamb trade. Store lambs are slowly running out however are still showing a strong trade with the prime rings starting to turn in the producers favour. Ewes with lambs at foot are starting to take to the market following the lambing season with demand for these comparable to previous years with strong couples achieving £70/life with harder placed couples around £55/life. Pig Market - pig Prices have remained relatively stable with prices slightly increasing to 135.31p/kg however still remain 7.5p below last years levels. Slaughtering too have remained stable despite one plant reportedly being disrupted by storm Gareth, however they remain 4.2% down a total of 7,200 less pig than last year.
Month (ex farm) Midlands
Feed Wheat
Feed Barley
Oilseed Rape
Currency
Apr 2019
£160/t
£135/t
£302/t
£/€ = 1.16
May 2019
£161/t
£136/t
£303/t
€/£ = 0.86
Jun 2019
£162/t
£137/t
£304/t
$/£ = 0.76
Milk Data
Avg Monthly Price
UK Farmgate Milk Price
29.28ppl
Fuel/Straw/Silage
Price
Fertiliser
Price
Red Diesel
57.1p/litre
34% N AN (bags UK) £/tonne
£262.00
Big sq Baled Wheat Straw
£50.00/tonne
0:24:24 blend (bags) £/tonne
£285.00
Big Bale Hay
£110.00/tonne
20:10:10 blend (bags) £tonne
£268.00
p/kg dwt
Finished Steers
Finished Lambs
Finished Pigs
346.6
442.8
137.7
BREXIT Update The great Brexit debate seems no nearer to being resolved – are we going to be in, out or just shaken about? No one can be sure what will happen next – a second referendum and no exit, general election or a “no deal” scenario. UK Agriculture awaits a political break through before it can start to understand the full implications and future economic & political landscape that awaits it. Defra is gearing up for the possibility of a ‘no deal’ exit with the release of a raft of advisory notes and the UK import tariff rates for agricultural products. T’e tariff rates proposed give an interesting insight into current Government thinking with no tariffs on cereals, oilseeds & derived products & most dairy products, much lower UK rates than current EU ones for most products but the same rates as current for sheep products. Perhaps recognition that some sectors are vulnerable and need some protection to keep the countryside alive? Meanwhile The Agriculture Bill is slowly making its way through the Parliamentary process has a host of proposed amendments including to make more reference to agriculture, require that imported produce complies with UK standards for food safety, environment and animal welfare and have zero net green house gas emissions by 2050 at the latest. It is turning into a long and winding road toward the resolution of the Brexit conundrum and hopefully it will be a matter of months rather than years before we get there. In the mean time we keep focusing on helping businesses become more resilient to whatever may come next.
The latest issue of AgriView is now out and includes Richard Gadd’s Farmland Market Update and a piece on the Agriculture Bill from Ben Sharples of Michelmores Law.
Read online here
Key Dates Date
Regulation
Restriction
16 April
Cross compliance
The burning season for burning heather, rough grass, bracken, gorse or vaccinium finishes. The burning season is from 1 October to 15 April for uplands, and from 1 November to 31 March for land not within an upland area.
30 April
Cross compliance
If you are in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone you must have recorded the number of ‘specified’ livestock kept on your farm during the previous calendar year and you must have calculated the amount of nitrogen they produced. You must also record the number and type of livestock in a building or hardstanding during the previous storage period.
1 May
Cross compliance
You must not carry out hedge or tree coppicing or hedge laying from 1st May.
1 May
Cross compliance
Crop diversification period and Ecological Focus Area (EFA) period for nitrogen fixing crops begins (until 30 June).
3 May
RPA
Deadline for Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Applications
3 May
RPA
Deadline for Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant
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