Co-op Grain Prices as Good as Could be Expected

IFA Grain chair Kieran McEvoy said the recent announcements by Tirlán and Centenary co-ops to pay between €205-210/t for green feed barley and €217-220/t for green feed wheat are as good as could be expected given global grain markets.

“Despite the relatively dry weather for harvest and satisfactory yields for spring cereal crops, 2024 will be remembered as a very challenging year for the tillage sector.  The unfortunate reality is that these prices may still not cover the costs of production on rented land. Teagasc has forecast that average tillage farm incomes in 2024 are likely to remain very similar to 2023, which was a complete and utter disaster for the sector,” Kieran McEvoy said.

“Price premiums paid by co-operatives and merchants for food crops such as malting barley, gluten free oats and contracted winter barley will help to mitigate the situation for some tillage farmers,” he said.

Native cereal and protein crops have produced good quality grain this harvest, despite earlier concerns about very delayed planting dates.

Kieran McEvoy said livestock farmers and other end users should give preferential treatment to Irish native grain when procuring and assembling feed rations for the winter months ahead.