First standing crop auctions to test straw market

Standing straw auctions begin from 30 June in Herefordshire and Welsh border counties with Sunderlands & Thompsons, which expects to sell about 2,000ha  (5000 acres) of standing wheat, barley, rape and bean haulm this season.

The first sale at Dymock, Gloucestershire will see 92ha (227acres) of wheat, barley and linseed straw go under the hammer on two farms, testing buyers’ expectations of the coming harvest.

Most of Herefordshire has escaped the severe drought conditions seen in East Anglia and many crops look in good condition, though generally grain yields may be down by 10 to 15% and volume of straw may be variable this year, says the firm.   

Supply shortages are expected to hit hardest in the straw market this year - the British Hay and Straw Merchants’ Association reports that hay crops have generally been good, with some bumper crops in the north.