THE combines have been busy throughout much of Europe, despite frequent interruptions for rain, according to the latest bulletin from the UK's Home Grown Cereals Authority.
A start has been made with winter barley in England, but it will be some time before combines are seen in Scottish fields.
In Germany, about 40 per cent of the barley harvest is complete, but yields are reported to be highly variable, ranging from
five tonnes per hectare in the west to eight tonnes in the east. The wheat harvest is likely to begin next week.
In Poland, total cereal production at 25.5 million tonnes is forecast to be at least 1.7 million tonnes lower than last year. Good progress has been made in Hungary and Romania, but there are some concerns over grain quality.
What happens in North America will be the ultimate decider in the prices that farmers can expect throughout much of the world. The US Department of Agriculture has recently raised its forecast for world wheat production by 1.3 million tonnes to 664.2 million tonnes, which is 55.3 million tonnes above last year's final figure.
But global supplies of what, maize and soya are at historically low levels and this is being reflected in the huge volatility on the futures markets.
The London market has seen a fall of £7.25 per tonne for November wheat, which is now valued at £142.50 per tonne. In Chicago wheat for December has slipped by $17.82 to $314.13 per tonne while maize for the same month has fallen by $28.05 to $279.23 per tonne.
The full article contains 281 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
