WIN A TAFE TRACTOR FOR A YEAR

>Contact Editor Chris Lyddon
>Read the latest industry blogs

click here for A-Z industry contacts

markets

BeefLambMilkPigmeatPotatoes

 

WheatOilseedsBarleyPoultryMaize

In week ended 5th January, the deadweight prime cattle average price levelled on the week at 365.0p/kg. read more

As domestic lamb continues to compete with increased volumes of cheaper imports and demand remains subdued, DW lamb prices eased in week ended 5th January. read more

World prices eased back towards the end of 2012 although remained at levels comparable to the same period in 2011. read more

Having shot to record levels during September and October, GB finished pig prices continued to rise in November and early December, albeit more slowly. read more

The GB weekly average price rose by £4.63/t to £227.93/t and the free-buy average fell by £4.45/t to £330.74/t. read more

Mid-January saw the release of much-anticipated information from the USDA in the form of world supply and demand estimates, US winter wheat plantings, final 2012 production estimates and quarterly stocks. read more

The USDA data set a bearish tone for oilseed markets with upward revisions to US and Brazilian crops. read more

UK malting barley export prices are at €245/t FOB (spring, South Coast) w/e 11th April. read more

The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on the activity of UK hatcheries and poultry slaughterhouses. read more

USDA’s latest quarterly stocks report, released on 28th September, estimated US maize stocks (at 1st September) at 25.1m t, down 12% on the same point in 2011 and the lowest since 2004. read more

<<

>>

 

Take5

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PAPERS

More than half of Britain’s apple orchards have vanished in the past 25 years, victims of developers and intensive farming. A third have gone in the past decade alone and the rate of destruction is so great that we import two-thirds of the apples we eat, countryside campaigners say. The decline of the orchard isn’t just bad news for lovers of British food. The Campaign to Protect Rural England said Britain had the ideal climate for apples and was capable of growing 2,300 varieties. Food campaigner Graeme Willis added: ‘The rate at which we have lost British apple orchards is crazy. We have one of the best climates for growing apples yet we are importing most of the apples we eat. ‘We want people to try one of the superb home-grown apple varieties first and think twice before reaching for an imported Golden Delicious or Granny Smith.’ According to the latest figures, Britons eat 680,000 tons of apples every year, making them the second most popular fruit after bananas. However, lower profit margins for growers and competition from cheap imports mean only 29 per cent of apples sold in supermarkets are home grown.

Worthy Farm in Somerset is well known for setting records. It plays host to the Glastonbury music festival - the largest in the world. Now, one of its cowsheds is set to become the UK’s largest agricultural solar array, benefiting from the governments new feed-in tariff scheme, which rewards people for generating solar power. And it is unlikely to be the last. But as farmers around the country rush to take advantage of the scheme, the government is considering lowering the subsidy as part of the Spending Review. The tariff is designed to reward people for installing renewable energy by paying for the electricity they generate. It pays up to four times the retail cost of electricity, whilst also allowing the power to be used for home appliances.

On October 14, Walmart detailed its commitment to help produce and supply the world with sustainable locally grown food. With the advisement of "suppliers, universities and non-government organizations to develop these goals, including World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, the Field to Market Alliance and Environmental Defense Fund," Walmart’s farm-to-market 2015 promise will transform the company’s business practices to incentivize and promote local farmers, reduce waste, increase awareness of the global food supply chain as well as make a commitment to only source sustainable products. Here are some of the highlights:
- Sell $1 billion in food sourced from 1 million small and medium farmers.
- Increase the income of the small and medium farmers it sources from by 10 to 15 percent.
- Accelerate the agricultural focus of the Sustainability Index, beginning with a Sustainable Produce Assessment for top producers in its Global Food Sourcing network in 2011.

Lowering meat consumption in the UK would prevent about 45,000 premature deaths a year, according to a new study. Oxford University’s heart unit analysed the health consequences of a range of diets, concluding that eating meat no more than three times a week would prevent 31,000 deaths from heart disease, 9,000 deaths from cancer and 5,000 deaths from strokes each year, saving the NHS £1.2bn. Friends of the Earth, which commissioned the research for its Healthy Planet Eating report, published today, said reducing meat consumption would also help slow the rates of climate change and deforestation.