Surprise as straw bids reach 65/t

By Tim Relf

WHEAT straw is making big money at auction as horse owners outbid farmers.

The price of wheat straw has risen above that of barley straw, which traditionally commands a premium because good-quality supplies are limited.

Small-baled wheat fetched £65/ t at Dreweatt Neates Newbury auction last Thursday. Merchants were left “wiping their brows” as the average price reached £57/ t, said the firms Christopher Boreham.

Demand for big-bale wheat – which averaged £25/ t – has also risen on the back of the conventional-bale shortage. “I can see merchants buying big bales and re-baling it into small ones,” said Mr Boreham.

It was a similar story at Adkins offering in Abingdon, Oxon, last week, where wheat made up to £49/ t, overtaking barley by £7/ t.

Interest in wheat for stables was a key factor, taking prices to 99p a bale, said auctioneer Philip Pocock.

Andrew McFarlane-Holt of Alexanders also saw a “complete turnaround” at the firms recent auction at St Ives, Cambridgeshrie.

Straw is now a valuable commodity – comparing favourably with the grain itself, he Mr McFarlane-Holt said.

The star of the St Ives sale was farmer Leon Radford, who topped the event in the wheat and hay sections at £42 and £140/ t, respectively.

“Very pleased and very surprised,” says Mr Radford. “I had been prepared to keep the hay for another year – but in the event, I certainly didnt need to.”