Prices & Trends

With the dairy sector facing significant challenges, Cedric Porter asks Tony Evans, senior business consultant at Andersons, for his advice on changes which farmers can make now.

The last three weeks have seen a marked shift in how and where we buy our food. It is a pattern that will remain while we are in lockdown and I suspect there will be a few habits or behaviours that persist for the longer term. 

Across continental Europe, severe frosts have impacted rapeseed crops across France, Poland and Germany.

Although not always a popular cropping option in recent years, oats could see a consistent rise in acreage and a return to popularity amongst UK growers, thanks to several factors now in the crop’s favour. Farmers Guardian reports.

It is not just shoppers who are stockpiling in the face of coronavirus, with countries holding back grain to keep for their own food supplies, helping push up UK grain prices.

Fuel prices were softening at a key time when farmers were playing catch-up after the wet winter but they have not yet tumbled in line with oil prices.

A massive over-supply of milk in the UK and across the world is the reason for the dramatic fall in milk prices. UK spot markets have dropped to 15ppl, while some milk is going unsold and starting to be dumped.

In theory, it should be fairly easy to farm while staying two metres away from every other human being. Open fields and solitary tractor cabs mean arable farming is fairly self-isolating at the best of times. There are clearly fewer face-to-face meetings than, say, being Prime Minister.

US corn area is up for debate as prices have moved lower since recent planting and stock data was taken, meaning farmers planting decisions could easily change.

Labour availability, supply chain disruption and volatile prices are the issues uniting farmers around the world as the global industry reacts to coronavirus.