Interesting times and election uncertainties
The grain harvest is rapidly approaching and over the last few days we have had some very welcome rain.
Whether or not that has arrived in time remains to be seen because it certainly has been dry. On our little farm we dug out an acre pool which had been overflowing with water all winter and spring but the level has just started to drop. It has been a fascination to see the wildlife find the pool and watch it develop into a bit of a haven.
Back to more mundane matters, we have had a flash 48-hour fertiliser sale by the manufacturers which has certainly created some challenges. In years gone by we used to have a more structured approach based around June sales and movement but now we don’t seem to be doing that anymore. A/N started at £175 and at the time of writing has now reached £185. Sales have been good with manufacturers, allegedly well sold until the end of September.
Grain prices have remained fairly steady over the last month with November wheat holding steady at around circa £138 with barley about £15 lower than that.
OSR has dropped below £300 off the combine mainly on the back of currency firming and the potential of a large soya crop. We are however in interesting times. I am writing this just before the general election and the result of that could have a dramatic effect on our currency.
If the blue team win then we will move straight into Brexit negotiations and we will have to ride that rollercoaster and if the red team win…well I am not quite sure what will happen but their approach to Brexit and agriculture is quite different.
If we have a red and orange coalition then I am afraid that trying to predict that is above my pay grade. One thing that they do say is that there are two certainties in life and they are death and taxes and I don’t really want more of either of those.
I am off to continue my obsession with the game of rugby and will report back on my return… A good and plentiful harvest to you all!
David Roberts of G. O. Davies (Westbury) Ltd which has been trading in Westbury for 54 years and is a privately-owned grain merchant operating across Wales and the West Midlands.
