Grain Council Report November 2024

Harvest

Harvest 2024 is now over 99% complete with just a very small area of later maturing spring bean crops now left to cut at the time of writing. Spring cereal crops were wrapped up during the drier, favourable weather conditions from late August to mid-September. Spring barley and spring oat yields were much better than expected, with yields generally ranging from 2.7-3.6t/ac for both crops with plentiful yields of straw. Barley straw prices are widely reported as €25/bale ex. field in eastern and south-eastern counties with €30-35/bale charged in the higher demand areas of the west and south. 

Spring bean yields are reported from 1.8-2.5t/ac, some crops were cut at higher moistures due to green, later maturing crops resulting from delayed planting dates in the spring. 

Grain Prices 

Native price offers for green grain have now been published. Green barley prices from the Co-Operatives range from €205-210/t with green feed wheat being paid between €215-220/t. Prices from the larger, independent merchants are lower than this ranging from €190-205/t for green feed barley. Malting barley prices were settled €247.69/t for brewing and €257.69/t for distilling contracts with Boortmalt. The Malting Company of Ireland paid €258/t to its Dairygold and Tirlan suppliers. 

International wheat prices have remained relatively unchanged since the last report. The same fundamental market sentiments are in place with competitive Russian wheat exports continuing to keep a lid on further global price increases. This supply is outweighing the effect of very poor EU wheat production in 2024/25. The EU Commission has forecast that EU wheat exports will be just 25.2MMT this year, 10.3MMT lower than in 2023/24. Native dried wheat for December is priced at €235/t, with barley €10-15/t behind this. 

Maize remains very well supplied at a global level, with Brazil set to produce the second largest crop on record in 2024/25 at over 119MMT. In the USA, record yield forecasts predicted earlier in the season have developed, combined with a very rapid pace of harvest due to a warm dry autumn in the key production states. 

Oilseed rape prices have exhibited a more bullish sentiment, with Nov-24 Paris futures rising over €500/t since mid-October. This is due to good oilseed demand and lower production in the EU-27, Australia and Ukraine. New crop (2025) futures have also risen but are trading lower at €485/t relative to nearby futures. 

Activity Since Last National Council

• The National Grain Chairman and a delegation from the Grain Committee met with representatives from Dairygold and Tirlan, tillage and agribusiness teams to discuss grain prices on the 26^th and 27^th of September. 
• A National Grain Committee meeting was held in the Farm Centre on October 30^th .
• IFA National Grain Chairman and Vice Chairman attended the IFJ Tillage Day, on November 7^th.

Future Activities

• The Grain Policy Executive will join the Irish Agri-Crops for Construction Road Map focus group on November 14^th. 
• IFA will attend the COPA COGECA arable weed seminar in Gembloux, Belgium on November 21^st. The event will be attended by MEP’s and officials from DG Agri and DG Sante. 
• The National Grain Chairman and Grain Policy Executive will attend the COPA Cereals and Oilseeds Working Party online on Friday, December 13^th in Brussels.

EU Update

• From January 1^st, GAEC 7 is set to be changed under Ireland’s CAP strategic plan. Growers will now have the option to use either (i) crop rotation and diversification or (ii) crop diversification (three-crop rule) to meet this requirement.