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WheatOilseedsBarleyPoultryMaize

The uplift in cattle prices of recent weeks slowed in week ended 11th May read more

With more new season lambs entering the market, the dynamics of the trade have started to change read more

Provisional data for April milk deliveries of approximately 1,111m litres are 93m litres (7.7%) down on the previous year read more

In April, the DAPP averaged 160.9p/kg, almost 4p up on the month. At the same time, the average retail price came down by a small amount read more

The GB weekly average price fell by £7.68/t to £295.35/t and the free-buy average fell by £22.02/t to £368.39/t. read more

The first USDA estimates for world production in 2013-14 forecast record maize and wheat production, citing larger planted areas and a rebound in yields from the US (maize) and the Former Soviet Union (wheat) read more

The USDA has released its first soyabean supply and demand estimates for the new season 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

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PAPERS

A solar farm is set to be built on land in West Dorset to generate power for around 700 homes. Plans have been submitted to install thousands of solar panels at Wyld Meadow Farm, Monkton Wyld. The energy generated would be connected to the electricity substation at Axminster and fed back into the National Grid. PV utility solar company Low Carbon Solar has chosen the site because it is well screened and has one of the highest levels of sun exposure in the UK. The yearly sun hour rate for the site is in excess of 900 hours. The proposals were broadly welcomed at a public meeting in January, although there were some concerns from nearby residents about how the development would look from their properties. A public survey carried out at a farmer’s market in Bridport has collected 80 signatures in support of the scheme. A spokesman for Cirencester-based company Low Carbon Solar said: “The results of the public consultation have been, on the whole, extremely encouraging in terms of the interest that was expressed in solar photovoltaic technology and the support for such a development.” The company is leasing the land from the owner of Wyld Meadow Farm, using two fields to install between three and four megawatts – the equivalent of the energy produced by around 30 to 40 automobile engines.

Drought conditions could have a damaging effect on East Yorkshire’s cereal and vegetable harvest. Worried farmers say the lack of rainfall in March and April has put crops such as beans and spring cereals under serious pressure. Farmers are now praying for rain amid fears the yields of all crops will be down and prices will rise in shops and supermarkets. The food and farming industry is facing a double whammy – low global food stocks and extreme weather hitting growing crops. East Yorkshire farmers and growers have not had to cope with such a prolonged dry spell since the drought of summer 1976. Farmer John Clappison, of Risby Park Farm, near Beverley, said: "An inch of rain over the next seven days will make a tremendous difference. "If we don’t get the rainfall all crops will suffer and there will be the potential for a really poor cereal and vegetable harvest. At the moment, some crops look better than others, but they all need water and that it why immediate rain is so vital." Normally 50mm of rainfall a month is recorded in the Beverley area, but so far this April there has been just 4mm. Mr Clappison, who grows sprouts, vining peas and cereals, said: "The food market is now international and dependent on the weather. A year ago cereal stocks were high, but a huge drought in Russia last summer has turned oversupply into undersupply, with soaring prices. Current extreme weather in the UK, US and Australia is hitting crops, so the food market could be facing a double whammy."