Grain prices are not in a good place at present. It’s harvest time in many parts of the world and, traditionally, the price falls to its lowest at this time, with an odd exception in the last few years.

US, UK and EU prices are all down and, in some cases, at their lowest levels since March of this year.

Using French MATIF wheat as an example, the December price fell to €216/t on Thursday 15 August. On Wednesday afternoon, that price had moved to €213.25/t, having briefly returned to €218.75/t on Tuesday and trying to hold on Monday evening at €217/t.

The last time markets were at these levels was on 18 March, when it was at €214.50/t. It climbed to €274/t on 27 May.

However, since then, it has fallen and remained in the €225/t to €231/t range from the middle of July until last week, when it dropped.

To put this into perspective, the last published co-op price offer was at the end of July and was €180/t for green barley and €200/t for green wheat.

At that time MATIF wheat for December was at around €230/t (dried price).

Maize

The maize price is also dropping and, overall, this does not bode well for barley prices.

The reasons behind current trends are many, but the continued availability of competitive wheat and grain from the Black Sea, along with a big world maize crop, are pressuring prices.

In the US, the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is under way and it is interesting to watch as agronomists travel around different states predicting the yields of maize crops.

As reported last week, the US maize yields are expected to be at record highs. States on the crop tour so far include South Dakota, Ohio, Indiana and Nebraska. Yields are either on a par with last year or above in Indiana and Nebraska.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, maize yields are forecast to climb 4% to 127 million tonnes.

Figures from Brazil’s Conab, which is part of the ministry of agriculture, place the 2023/2024 crop as the second-largest in the country’s history.

Total corn production is placed at 4,561m bushels. The 2022/23 crop was a record at 5,192m bushels, while the 2021/2022 crop was 4,454m.

Prices at home

The drop in markets does not bode well for prices on farms, but markets could pick up again. There’s reported to be little trading of native grain at current price levels of about €230/t for dry wheat and €215/t or under for dry barley for November delivery.

Meanwhile, the Boortmalt harvest average price minus the €10/t charge currently stands at €251.23/t for green malting barley.