Grain markets were dropping slightly this week. Matif wheat for December closed last Friday at €217/t and on Wednesday morning was at €214.50/t.

US wheat and maize prices dropped significantly this week.

On Friday of last week, the December US wheat price closed at 568c/bu. It climbed to 572.50c/bu on Tuesday and fell back to 566c/bu on Wednesday.

Oilseed rape prices have been relatively stable and were at €514.25/t on Wednesday morning.

US soybean prices dropped this week, so this is something that could affect oilseed rape prices and is something to watch out for.

The effect of the US election result on markets will be something to look out for in the coming days and how it may affect trade with the US.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will publish its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report on Friday of this week.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reported that barley plantings are slow in the EU, so this is something that could affect markets.

The Australian barley harvest is now under way and so will be something to watch.

In France, 38% of the maize harvest was complete as of 28 October.

This is behind on the same time last year, when it was at 89%.

Looking at plantings and it was reported that 41% of the expected soft wheat area has been planted and 62% of the winter barley area.

This is behind the average for the time of the year. The European Commission cut export estimates for soft wheat and production estimates for wheat and barley.

Native prices

At home, spot barley is reported to be priced at around €215/t to €220/t, while spot wheat is at around €235/t to €240/t.

Maize ex-port is significantly higher than barley at €235/t. This is a good thing and is one to watch, as it will be less attractive to use maize in a ration and may also help barley prices.

In Northern Ireland, spot barley was reported at £194/t (€234/t) and spot wheat was reported at £210/t (£252/t).

Last week, Dairygold offered suppliers grain prices for harvest 2025.

A price of €205/t was offered for green wheat, €190/t for green barley and €445/t for oilseed rape.

If you would like to share your grain prices for harvest 2024, please email them to tillagenews@farmersjournal.ie and include as much information as possible, including base price, transport allowance, trading bonuses and moisture deductions or bonuses where possible.