Grain market report
Could a new U.S. president impact agricultural markets?
With a stronger dollar, a robust U.S. economy and increased exports, there might be a shortterm positive impact. However, expect some uncertainty and turbulence .
Wheat prices have hit an 18-24 month low, due to a number of factors, including large exports from Russia and Ukraine. Despite Black Ssea exports returning to pre-war levels, Ukraine and Russia have produced nearly 14 million tonnes less than the previous year, suggesting that stocks may soon deplete. EU exports have been slow, with 4 million tonnes less exported compared to last year. The market needs to become more competitive to price increases. Hopefully, recovery is on the horizon. Demand for Barley is low, leading to slow market activity and low trading prices. The price gap between wheat and barley remains significant.
In contrast, the rapeseed market has shown encouraging prices. However, recent support from palm oil production risks raises the question of whether we have seen the market peak.There was a dip when Trump threatened to impose import taxes on China, Canada and Mexico.
Sustainable Farming Incentive 2024 Offer
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 offer is now fully rolled out, applications are being processed. If you need advice on the available options , please contact a member of our agribusiness team.
Annual Declarations
Many SFI schemes are nearing the end of their first year, so a declaration is required. For agreements with no rotational options, your declaration will only have one part. For agreements with rotational options, there will be a second section to make any necessary changes for these options.
Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants Applications
TEMPORARILY
CLOSED
This year, the demand for capital grants has been exceptional. By November, Rural Payments Agency (RPA) had received more applications for the standalone capital offer than during the entire 2023-24 financial year. The value of these applications has also increased significantly, with applications from May to November this year worth 42% more than all applications received last financial year.
This high demand for some grant items has led to unsustainable spending levels this year. We will be giving more to capital grants this year than ever before, with a forecasted 49% increase in spending comparedto 2023/24 and 125% more than in 2022/23.
To ensure funding can be prioritised to help build a sustainable farming sector, we will be simplifying and rationalising grant funding.
Part of the overall capital grant offer has temporarily closed. A further update on this will be shared in early 2025.
Autumn Budget 2024
The recent autumn budget has had a great deal of attention in the rural community for several reasons. The chancellors budget has secured £2.4 billion for the next financial year for Farming & the Environment, which will help maintain the momentum of the Environmental land management schemes (ELMs).
There will be further reductions in De-linked payments. For 2025 there will be a 76% reduction to the first £30,000 of a payment, with no payments for any portion above £30,000. It is still unclear what this will look like for payments following in 2025.
Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier – Mirror agreements
If your Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) agri-environment agreement is expiring or partly expiring in 2024, you will be offered a mirror agreement with the same duration of 5 or 10 years. This will be an exact duplicate of your current agreement, allowing you to continue delivering environmental outcomes and receiving funding without any interruption.
