Local sales give plus in CAV wheat pool

CAV Agrotheek's storage pool for wheat is relatively modest compared to national players. This concerns a volume of 7.000 to 8.000 tons, which the company sells in quantities of 500 to 1.000 tons per month. For the 2016 harvest, participating growers will receive a net price of 153 euros per tonne credited to their account. All costs have already been deducted from this. Growers who have received an advance price will receive an interest discount of 2 euros per tonne on this amount.

Malting barley equals wheat
For the feed barley pool, which mainly consists of winter barley (and a small volume of non-brewing spring barley), the net result is 133 euros per tonne. Malting barley is at the same level as wheat: 153 euros per tonne. In all cases it concerns the summer barley variety Quench, which is mainly grown on Texel.

More demand from poultry farmers
The wheat price of 153 euros per tonne is respectable compared to competing pools. The company was mainly able to generate a plus by selling a considerable volume on the local market. In addition to a baking wheat project in the north of North Holland, CAV is selling more and more wheat to poultry companies. "That means profit for both parties," explains general manager Jeroen de Schutter. 'If poultry farmers purchase wheat from the feed industry, they pay transport costs for it. These amount to 20 euros per tonne. By delivering wheat directly, transport is saved twice. Poultry farmers thus have raw materials for a lower price and affiliated arable farmers have a higher sales price. We clean and break the wheat upon request.'

North Holland poultry farmers are expanding, resulting in a growing volume of wheat being purchased from CAV. De Schutter talks about a 'determining' quantity that influences the financial end result. 'In addition, there is more interest in purchasing feed raw materials locally. It is not our ambition to further expand this volume. It's easy to calculate this way.'

Higher price not compensated
De Schutter is satisfied with the average hectoliter weight: 'For us it did not fall below 72. Nationally it is lower. The yield is considerably less than we were used to after the top harvest of 2015. On average, I estimate that 20 to 25 percent less was harvested. The 2015 pool result amounted to 146 euros. Even with the higher price of the 2016 harvest, growers are still less well off. This is due to the significantly lower kilos. Baking-worthy wheat is not controlled. Our philosophy is the highest possible kilo yield. The premium for baking-grade wheat makes too little difference. In consultation with the growers, we choose wheat varieties with the highest yield and good disease resistance.'

No drying costs
As an additional advantage, CAV protects against drying costs. The company does not charge any costs for drying up to 17 percent. This applies to both wheat and barley. 'Arable farmers can start earlier and finish the harvest later,' De Schutter explains. Most of the affiliated growers sell their grain based on the daily price. The CAV man has a logical explanation for this: 'Arable farmers in this area are tied to a trading company with their seed potatoes. You also have a regular customer for sugar beets. They therefore do not want to fix their grain sales, but are free to decide.'

Weather influences especially in barley
Although it will take at least 6 weeks for the combines to harvest the 2017 harvest, the company expects wheat yields to exceed last year's levels and end at a more average level. De Schutter: 'We still have to wait another 6 weeks, but at the moment we have no reason to expect a lower yield. Winter wheat can withstand cold and dry weather quite well. With barley it's a different story. Winter barley is clearly suffering from drought. At the end of May we had one heavy shower of 40 millimeters. The barley has started lodging in places. That doesn't do the yield any good. Summer barley is not having an easy time due to the drought. That won't be great.'