Category: Arable

AHDB Potatoes has released its first estimates of total potato plantings for 2017.  This shows the GB area has increased by 4% compared to year-earlier levels to reach 121,000 Ha.  This is similar to the areas planted in 2012 and 2013 when the average price for the season was £154 and £127 per tonne respectively.  But the area is only part of the story, production figures will depend on yields and there is still plenty of growing time yet.  According to the AHDB, a five year average yield of 44.7 tonnes per hectare would result in an increase in production of 4% compared to 2016.  But if the very low yielding year of 2012 is taken out, the average rises to 46.7 tonnes per hectare and at this yield production would increase by 8% compared to last year’s levels. An increase somewhere between 4 and 8% looks most likely unless we have a serious weather event and yields are hit badly.  Conversely another high yielding year like 2015 would see production 13% up on 2016.

The AHDB area increases are similar to those found on the Continent.  The North-west European Potato Growers (NEPG) which includes Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK estimate a combined increase of 3.6%.  AHDB will update its estimate in August to include varieties and regional figures.  However, some major growing regions in Belgium and France are reportedly short of water which could see average yields decline on the continent.  This would be better news for UK producers as imports have become an increasingly important factor in the domestic market over the last few years. 

Andersons have updated their Loam Farm arable model for this year’s Cereals Event.  The table below summarises the results from the 2015 and 2016 harvests, plus a budget for the upcoming 2017 crop and a forecast for 2018.  The results show the profitability prospects for combinable cropping are far better than they were twelve months ago.  But this is almost entirely due to the weakening of the Pound following the Brexit vote last June.  This may just turn out to be a short-term boost and farmers would be prudent to use the next two harvests to ensure their businesses are ready for the post-Brexit world.

Loam Farm is a notional business, located in East Anglia, which has been running since 1991 and tracks the fortunes of arable farming.  It comprises a 600 hectare (1,480 acre) combinable crop farm running a simple rotation of milling wheat, WOSR, feed wheat, and spring beans.  Of the cropped area, 240 Ha are owned and 360 Ha rented on FBTs.  There is a working proprietor plus one full-time man and harvest casual.

LOAM FARM MODEL – Source: The Andersons Centre
£ per Hectare	Harvest 2015 (Result)	Harvest 2016 (Result)	Harvest 2017  (Budget)	Harvest 2018 (Forecast)
Output	1,048	1,061	1,167	1,178
Variable Costs	431	421	395	403
Gross Margin	617	640	772	775
Overheads	404	394	414	414
Rent and Finance	243	242	243	243
Drawings	75	77	77	77
Margin from Production	(105)	(73)	38	41
BPS	179	213	213	208
Business Surplus	74	140	251	249

The 2015 harvest was marked by record yields which offset the poor prices to a small extent.  Evens so, the overall result for 2015 was a loss before the Basic Payment.

The 2016 harvest produced lower physical yields than the previous year.  However, average prices received were higher.  This was despite some grain being sold forward before the Brexit-induced price lift.  Costs fell for the year due to lower fertiliser and fuel prices.  But it still took the Basic Payment, which was significantly improved due to weaker Sterling, to bring the business back into profit.

Yields are assumed to be more ‘normal’ for harvest 2017.  There may be some downwards adjustment once the harvest results are in, especially with the spring crops.  Price prospects look reasonable for the coming harvest so output is estimated to rise once more.  It then remains at similar levels for the 2018 budget as there seems little on the immediate horizon that looks set to radically shift UK grain values.

There are some more variable cost savings for harvest 2017 largely due to cheaper fertiliser. Overheads have remained relatively static during the period apart from 2016 when cheaper fuel reduced costs.   The BPS is assumed to remain at (improved) 2016 levels for 2017 due to the weakness of Sterling.  It drops slightly for 2018 as there is a possibility of a higher % of ‘Pillar Transfer’ to the Rural Development budget.

The table shows Loam Farm is budgeted to return to making a profit from production over the next two years.  The process of Brexit is full of uncertainty, but tougher times could well lie ahead.  Farm businesses need to ‘fix the roof whilst the sun is shining’.

Loam Farm illustrates trends in arable returns but every farm is different and there is a vast range in business performance; driven largely by the quality of management.  The better returns generally seen in the sector may be masking underlying issues on many arable farms.  Often these revolve around a high cost base and disappointing yields.

International commodity trader RCMA is building a new oilseed rape crushing plant at Camgrain’s Stratford-upon-Avon site.  According RCMA the new £25m facility will only crush UK grown rapeseed and, for the first year, only that sourced from Frontier Agriculture, Camgrain’s marketing partner.  This should reduce delivery costs for co-op members with grain stored at the plant.  The facility is expected to be up and running this autumn and will crush about 100,000t of seed a year.  It is claimed to be the first new crushing facility to be opened in the UK for around 30 years.  It is relatively small, with the UK’s largest plant at Erith in Kent having a capacity of over 1m tonnes of seed per year.  The Erith plant is owned by ADM which, together with Cargill (plants at Liverpool and Hull), currently have a virtual duopoly on rape crushing in the UK with a market share in excess of 90%.  The new Stratford facility should add more competition into the market.

Probably the most important event in May for UK arable farmers was the arrival of some much-needed rain.  The majority of winter-sown crops received enough in the second half of the month to perk them up and, barring another prolonged dry spell, there may not be too much effect on yield.  Spring crops have been more badly affected.  The spring cropping area is relatively high this year, especially spring barley.  Some of these crops are looking quite patchy.  Even those with better establishment are playing catch-up and there may be a noticeable effect on yields.  Whilst there are many good reasons for the recent shift back to more spring cropping, this year has perhaps been a reminder that it is a fundamentally riskier growing proposition than autumn plantings. 

In terms of markets, currency has given domestic prices a bit of a lift.  The narrowing of opinion polls ahead of the General Election has created uncertainty and caused the Pound to weaken.  The basics of the global grain market remain unchanged however.  Stock levels are at historic highs, and most forecasts indicate there will remain plentiful supplies following the 2017 harvest.  Indeed, as the northern hemisphere harvest draws nearer, the chances of a catastrophe in one of the major growing regions recedes.  UK ex-farm feed wheat prices for November 2017 are stuck in the range £130-£140 per tonne (depending on region) and may be there for a while.  These kinds of prices should allow better producers to make a profit from their cereals production – as long as costs have been kept under control. 

The EU is set to vote on the criteria for identifying endocrine disruptors.  Although this sounds highly technical,and not a little dull, it could have profound effects on Europe’s and the UK’s farming industry.  The definition of endocrine disruptors (EDs) has been a long-running saga.  The EU Plant Protection Products (PPP) Regulation (1107/2009) introduced a move from a risk-based to a hazard-based assessment criteria for the approvals of active ingredients in PPPs.  Effectively, this means the inherent properties of a chemical are looked at, rather than how it might be used in practical situations.  In general, the new rules make it less likely that an active ingredient will be approved because the test is whether a substance is harmful (for example caffeine) rather than how it actually interacts with humans or the environment (i.e. diluted in your morning latte).   At the same time as Regulation 1107 came in, endocrine disrupting active ingredients (substances that may interfere with hormones) were classified as hazardous.  But the rules defining what is an ED have not been agreed.

The rules on what constitutes an EDs look like they may now finally be set.  This would be based on World Health Organisations definitions.  Until all active substances have been assessed it is not clear how many may be lost as a result of this change.  Various studies have suggested upwards of 30 might be affected.  There is a split among Member States (and lobby groups) over the proposals.  Some want tougher criteria, whilst others think the scientific basis for the restrictions are unproven.  As we have said elsewhere, even with Brexit, these European rules matter because the UK is likely to take them on wholesale upon leaving the EU under the Great Repeal Act. 

Discussions with Member States are set to recommence on the possible renewal of Glyphosate, although the proposal looks likely to be for 10 years rather than 15.  Whilst Farm Commissioner, Phil Hogan and Commissioners for Climate Action and Trade are all pushing for a 15 year approval, Commissioners for Internal Market and the Environment would like to see the renewal for less than 10 years.  A new proposal for reauthorisation is being drawn up and ‘technical’ discussions will be re-launched with Member States shortly.  A decision on the re-approval will be made by the end of 2017 at the latest.

The EU Commission has given the green light for the proposed takeover by Chemchina of Syngenta.  As expected the approval is dependent on some significant divestitures.  The state-owned chemical company based in Beijing, will divest a large amount of Adama, its pesticides subsidiary business based in Israel.  The bid has also got the go-ahead from the anti-trust authorities in the US which should now pave the way for the takeover to be completed by the end of 2017.  This is the second Ag Chem merger to get given approval in the last month (see Dow & DuPont ) raising concerns within the industry of less competition and therefore higher prices.  In addition formal notification from Bayer of its proposed acquisition of Monsanto is expected shortly, with the aim of obtaining EU approval by the end of the year.  However, approval may be hampered by complications arising from the renewal of Glyphosate and the extension to the neonicotinoids ban.

EU Farm Commissioner, Phil Hogan, has said he would like to re-authorise the use of Glyphosate for ‘at least 10 years’ to give the industry some certainty.  This gives a guide to where the EU Commission stands on the key pesticide, but, as we have previously written, this does not guarantee re-approval.  Last month re-authorisation appeared to take a significant step forward when the EU’s Chemical Agency (ECHA) concluded that Glyphosate is non-carcinogenic.  However, even this finding is now being challenged by some MEPs, saying that the findings were influenced by the chemical’s manufacturer, Monsanto.

The iconic UK cereals firm, Weetabix, has been bought by the US company Post Holdings in a deal worth £1.4bn.  China’s Bright Food took a majority share in the Weetabix business, which is made near Kettering, Northamptonshire, back in 2012.  The hope was that the cereal would become popular in China, but this never really happened.  The Weetabix portfolio includes Alpen, Ready Brek, Barbara’s and Weetos.  All of the wheat used in the breakfast cereal is currently grown within 50 miles of the Kettering base.  When the business was put up for sale in January, Associated British Foods was rumoured to have been interested, but the weak Pound is likely to have reduced its buying power in contrast to the Dollar’s recent strength.