SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Cereal hold firm as £ strengthens
Cereal prices staved off attack from a strengthened £ this week, helped by good demand from the Middle East and African buyers which has given the market a firmer tone………………………..page 22
Agenda discussions
Agriculture will dominate the next round of WTO talks in Seattle next week, but setting an agenda for discussions between the EU, US and the Cairns group will be far from easy………………………..page 24
Double trouble
Sugar beet returns make poor reading at Hoe Hall, our adopted farm in Norfolk, but at least yields are encouraging; there is also trouble in the deer unit with disease pushing up vet fees and putting margins at risk……………………..page 26
Milk price fall
Lower payments for butterfat and protein included in October contracts saw milk prices fall between 5-10%; that puts the average payment at 17.9p/litre in the latest milk price review table………page 28
Market warning
Everyone likes to play the market, and while withholding cattle when numbers are tight could lift prices further, retailers will turn to imports if pushed too far, warn traders…………………….page 33
Quota scrabble
With less than two weeks trading left before suckler cow subsidy claims must be in, the market has gone into free-fall; many brokers quote £30 a unit to lease, but deals under £5 exist……………………page 34