AS August approaches, harvest 2014 is now well underway here in North Yorkshire. The majority of local growers have at least made a start with either their winter barley or OSR crops and have reported mixed results.

Feed barley samples have been varied with bushel weights anywhere between 52-70kg/hl although most are testing above the required 63.5kg/hl. Yields are also encouraging with many crops said to have yielded around the 3T/Acre mark, although some have certainly done more.

For malting varieties, samples have been very good with nearly all intended crops testing below the 1.8 per cent nitrogen mark, as required.

Yields have again been excellent with certain varieties yielding up to 3.75T/Acre in a variety of situations.

As for ex-farm values, good progress here in the UK and across wider Europe looks as though it is contributing to a sizeable barley crop, adding pressure to local ex-farm values. For those of you looking to move barley straight off the combine, £100/T currently looks like a realistic value. Further forward, values are slightly better with £110/T ex-farm now being offered for pre-Christmas delivery.

There appears to have been plenty of OSR cut locally over the weekend and yields are said to be average with anecdotal yields somewhere in the region of 1.5T/Acre; a similar yield throughout the rest of the UK would however still produce a crop size of 2.4M/T.

Record yields, and therefore a potentially record oilseed crop over in the US is also adding pressure, despite the good demand coming from China at the minute, particularly given the current values. Currently, £220-225/T ex-farm looks like a reasonable offer for immediate movement off the combine.

We have seen a couple of wheat samples through the office over the last couple of days and while the results have been encouraging, I wouldn’t like to say too much at this stage.

Further south, many growers are now said to be making a start into winter wheat and combines over in France are said to be well on their way. Again, good results across wider Europe are adding pressure to UK values, with immediate movement off the combine currently trading in the region of a rather disappointing £120/T ex-farm.