UK plantings improve but still poor as wheat hits £190/t

Winter wheat crop conditions in April made some improvements on the previous month but remain very poor by historic standards with yields expected to be low this harvest.

Almost half (45%) of winter wheat at the end of April was classed as in good or excellent condition, according to AHDB’s latest crop condition and development report.

This was an improvement of 11 percentage points on March figures, though was still considerably below last April, when 88% was classed as either good or excellent.

See also: Heavy showers crush farmers hopes of late spring plantings

Crop conditions for barley, oats, and oilseed rape also appear to be slightly poorer so far this year, while many spring crops have either still not been planted, or are yet to emerge.

The Midlands, East Anglia and Yorkshire have been some of the worst affected areas, but crops have generally fared slightly better in Scotland, the south of England and the north of England.

UK feed wheat futures May contract climbed by £11.25/t in the last week to close at £190.6/t on 7 May.

New season prices also increased with November futures peaking at £216.45/t, up by £36/t on month earlier levels.

Helen Plant, senior analyst at AHDB, said: “Although many growers have now been able to drill spring crops, there are still empty fields and there are only a few days left to plant spring barley in most of the UK.

“The late planting dates mean the average yield for spring barley is unlikely to break any records this year.

“Some very late drilling of usually winter varieties, as well as spring wheat crops, took place in April.

“Planting winter wheat varieties this late is very high risk as without enough cold weather, crops won’t be able to progress beyond tillering this year.

“This could pose a further risk to the 2024 wheat area.”