West Country quality in the balance
Crops in the South West are starting to suffer in the wet weather, although so far quality remains reasonable.
“Many people have still got small bits of wheat, linseed or beans left to cut, which is annoying as the weather has really put the skids under things,” said Ian Eastwood, managing director of West Country Grain.
“The wheat is starting to look a bit weathered, but it should still thrash out alright – and the inherent quality was so high that, although it is spoiling a bit, it is still okay.”
Bushelweights in feed wheat had dropped from over 80kg/hl at the start of harvest to 74-77kg/hl now, said Mr Eastwood.
“Given the traded specification is 72kg/hl, that is perfectly respectable.”
The vast majority of crops had had to be dried, and store keepers had been working almost 24 hours a day to cope with throughputs.
“They have been handling a lot more grain than expected, which is a good thing – most people have been pretty happy with their yields.
“A lot of cereals have come in at 16-18% moisture, which flies through the drier. Thankfully, there has been very little at 20% and upwards.”
Mr Eastwood was touring the West Country stores today (9 September) to identify possible malting barley samples.
“Some samples have got a bit of fusarium in them, but some are alright – and if they can malt there’s a £30-£40/t premium on offer, which is worth having.”
