Grain trader and seed and fertiliser supplier Nidera UK has handled a quarter of wheat exports this season.

From the start of the 2011/12 season, Suffolk-based Nidera has exported more than half a million tonnes of wheat, boosted by strong European demand.

Traditional export destinations Spain and the Netherlands have been major international buyers of UK wheat, but German demand for high quality milling grades was also good, said Nidera.

Ater a good harvest last year Nidera has exported roughly 50/50 milling wheat to feed wheat.

“A major success for us this season has been the securing of sufficient demand to cater for the quality crop produced by UK farmers,” said trading director Stuart Shiells.

“For the forthcoming season there is the potential for a large UK wheat harvest, although the crop is far from made.”

High purchase prices for pigs and cattle combined with difficult economic conditions led to disappointing results for food producer Vion.

While group turnover was up 7% at €9.5bn (£7.6bn) last year, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation fell by 53% to €90m (£72m). The result after tax was €14m (£11m).

Vion’s home markets of the Netherlands, Germany and the UK, were particularly challenging, as the stagnating economy and restricted consumer expenditure made it difficult to recoup higher costs, a statement said.

But the firm said it remained committed to its strategy of developing more added value products and achieving “sustainable partnerships with customers”.

Marks and Spencer’s total group sales are up 2% on last year to £9.9bn, with an increase of almost 4% in UK food sales.

M&S posted a pre-tax profit of £705.9m down from £714.3m year on year to 31 March 2012.

Total food sales were 3.9% better than last year at £4.7bn, with a like-for-like sales increase of 2.1%, partly due to the introduction of 1,900 new lines.

General merchandise revenue took a hit after M&S withdrew from the technology market with home items suffering a 10% reduction in sales.

M&S also announced this week that it is launching a new specialty range of meat and poultry sourced from small-scale British farms.

The government has published its draft Energy Bill, which sets out measures to deliver a “secure, affordable and low carbon economy”.

The Bill includes a number of proposals, such as long-term incentives for companies to invest in low carbon generation, transition arrangements for investment under the Renewables Obligation scheme, and policies to ensure the security of the electricity market.

But the Renewable Energy Association said any policies should ensure fair treatment for renewables, small and mid-scale players and consumers. With energy bills forecast to keep rising because of increasing gas prices, any reforms should limit price increases and not be the cause of higher electricity bills, REA chief executive Gaynor Hartnell said. Go to www.decc.gov.uk for more.

The value of the GB cheese market has increased by 7.2% to £2.6bn in the last year, due partly to an average price rise of 5.2% to £6.35/kg.

Despite this price rise, volumes sales of cheese increased by 1.9% in the 52 weeks to 18 March 2012 to 409,604t, boosted particularly by soft continental cheese, which grew by 10%. Cheddar cheese still makes up the majority of cheese sales by volume, at 55%.

It appears that conumers are also buying cheese more often as purchase frequency also increased year-on-year by 2.1% to 34 times a year.

Current potato stocks look set to last until the new crop, despite the bad weather which has delayed planting, according to the Potato Council.

The most recent estimate (based on an industry sample of 295 producers) is 855,000t on-farm storage of producer-owned stocks and 92,000t producer-held at the end of March.

“It looks a lot lower than last year, but this is because we’ve changed the methodology we use to avoid counting duplicates,” said market specialist manager David Swales.

“It’s hard to say what the exact difference is but if there was a shortage we’d see prices shooting up, which is just not the case.”

Total plantings up to 11 May are estimated at 85,165ha, compared with 122,270ha in 2011.

UK tractor registrations rose by 16.8% in April compared with the same month last year, to 1,808 units larger than 50hp. In the first four months of this year sales totalled 5,533 units, a 12.5% increase on the same period in 2011.

The rise is still partially attributable to the change in capital allowances, says AEA.Some orders placed to take advantage the 100% capital allowance on the first £100,000 of expenditure were still being delivered through April.

Precision farming doesn’t come cheap but could improve efficiency, which makes some of the kit eligible for grant funding through the Farming & Forestry Improvement Scheme, points out Mark Wheeler of Brown & Co, Spalding.

This is part of the Rural Development Programme for England and aims to help farming, forestry and horticultural businesses in England use resources more efficiently. It provides grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 to invest in projects and new machinery which enable environmentally friendly growth of the business.

In previous rounds, Brown & Co has successfully gained grant funding for projects including on board and base station GPS technology, claiming 40% of the capital cost. Electrical efficiency devices such as inverters for grain drying fans and rain water harvesting and storage projects are also eligible. Applications for the current round of the scheme must be made by 17 July.

Seven leading agricultural businesses have joined forces to form a seed technology group that aims to improve the process of variety selection and seed supply to farmers.

The “alliance” includes JE & VM Dalton Ltd, Dunns (Long Sutton), Gleadell Agriculture, H. L. Hutchinson, Pearce Seeds, Woodheads Seeds and Wynnstay Group.

All companies will continue to operate independently in their normal businesses, but will share information on plant breeding, seed multiplication, production and supply, as well as variety trials. The initial focus will be on providing independent information and services to growers on new breeding and crop protection technologies within wheat, barley, oilseed rape, maize and forage crops.

The Institute of Agricultural Management’s annual survey of farm managers’ pay and conditions aims to answer this question by providing objective and up to date information about pay and employment conditions.

Farm managers and managers of farm business units are invited to take part in the survey and submit responses by 25 May. The survey is open to both members and non-members of IAgrM and information is given in confidence.

To request a form please contact the Institute of Agricultural Management on 01275 843825 or email victoria@iagrm.com