Centenary Thurles Co-operative has become the latest merchant to announce its 2024 grain prices.

The co-op has set a green price of €205 for barley, €217 for wheat, €200 for oats, €225 for beans and €205 for rye.

These prices include a trading bonus and exclude VAT and transport where applicable. A bonus is also paid on high-bushel barley and oats.

The country’s largest buyer of Irish grain has set a green harvest price of €210/t for feed barley and €220/t for feed wheat. The prices include a €10/t trading bonus and standard transport allowances.

Tirlán is paying €258/t for malting barley, €250/t for gluten-free oats, €235/t for standard food grade oats, €250/t for feed beans, €455/t for oilseed rape and €506/t for HEAR oilseed rape.

It is also paying €240/t for contracted winter barley, €220/t for contracted spring barley, €220/t for equine oats (contracted), €200/t for feed oats (uncontracted) and feed price plus €30/t for seed grain. Prices exclude VAT.

For the first time, over 50% of Tirlan’s 173,000t green grain intake has qualified for premium crop payments, amounting to over €3m in premiums for quality and value-added grains.

At the time of going to print, Dairygold had not yet announced its harvest prices. Smyths Daleside Feeds in Donegal is expected to announce its price and pay its suppliers later this week.

International

International grain markets were under pressure, with Chicago maize and wheat futures (December 2024) falling by 2.6% and 4.4%, respectively, from Friday to Friday.

This is partly due to the US maize harvest continuing to outpace the five-year average and expectations of a sizeable maize crop in Brazil.

Concerns about dryness across the US plains and southern Russia could be alleviated by forecasted rain. As always, markets are driven by sentiment.

Wheat

However, the UK AHDB had cause for optimism regarding 2025 wheat futures this week.

Reports of sub-optimal weather conditions for winter crops in Russia and Ukraine, as well as a delayed maize harvest in France due to heavy rains, could affect the sowing of winter crops, including wheat.

Heavy rains

After repeated heavy rains last autumn and this summer, which led to the smallest wheat crop in 40 years, France experienced its wettest September in 25 years.

This, combined with further rainfall in the first half of October, has once again left some crop land waterlogged.