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

Supplies of the popular purple sprouting variety of broccoli have been all but wiped out by the severe winter weather, farmers have warned. Supermarkets are facing a shortage of the vegetable, a favourite with the middle classes. One leading broccoli farmer said the cold had destroyed ‘100 per cent’ of her crop and Waitrose has said that it has not been able to stock any at all this year. Purple sprouting broccoli, which has longer stems and less dense florets than common forms, has become a regular sight in supermarkets since it was championed as a ‘super food’ by celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver. Sarah Pettit, who runs Britain’s biggest purple sprouting broccoli farm, near Boston, Lincolnshire, said her crop was rotting in her fields after failing to sprout in the cold. She said: ‘It has been the coldest winter on our farm for 50 years. It’s been terrible for winter vegetables.’ Neil Booley, of Staples Vegetables, said much of the crop which had not been killed off was about a month behind schedule.

Controversial plans to build a huge, US-style "mega" dairy farm in Lincolnshire, housing thousands of cows and compared by critics to a battery chicken farm, have been withdrawn. Nocton Dairies, the applicant, blamed objections from the Environment Agency for the decision but hinted that a new plan could be submitted. The company singled out the environmental regulator’s concerns over risks to the water table and whether the change in land use would benefit the public. The planned 3,770-cow dairy had sparked a huge public protest, with concerns about the environmental and animal welfare impacts of the project. More than 72,000 people signed an online petition opposing the plans, and 1,600 objections were lodged with local planners. Nocton Dairies announced it had written to North Kesteven council to formally withdraw the application. The company said in a lengthy statement that the Environment Agency’s "precautionary stance and requests for new information reflect uncertainty with agriculture in general and the design of the modern dairy farm in particular". It claimed that despite its best efforts to address the agency’s concerns, a "lack of relevant research" meant the company had been unable to provide the reassurances required.