A lower quality of wheat meant that puzzles had to be done in the pool of AgruniekRijnvallei from Wageningen. Compared to the 2015 harvest, it still manages to achieve a plus, although the level remains low. The situation looks better for the coming harvest.
The wheat pool from the 2015 harvest achieved a result of 155 euros per tonne. Freight costs are deducted from this for the grower; he pays 25 euros per freight delivered. The costs of this therefore differ per grower. AgruniekRijnvallei also has a pool for feed barley and triticale. This has a term of 10 weeks, from the end of harvest, and achieved a price of 130 euros per tonne.
System works out well
The company from Wageningen has its own system for selling wheat from the pool. 'After the last delivery from the country, at the end of August, a period of 40 weeks starts in which we sell 2 percent of our volume every 5 weeks,' explains Henny Vermeulen. Vermeulen is AR Plant manager and responsible for all arable farming activities at AgruniekRijnvallei. 'AR Plant has an annual turnover of between 25 and 30 million euros. Of this, 10 million euros comes from the sale of crop protection products. Things like fertilizer, seeds and fruit growing make up the rest.'
Save on transport
“All wheat is supplied to the livestock sector for processing into animal feed,” he explains. 'However, I am free to sell the wheat to another party. In practice, this hardly happens, because we save a lot on transport costs when we deliver internally. We store most of it ourselves in Wageningen. A smaller volume, approximately 2.500 tons, at a location in Valburg.'
Shocked by the quality and yield
A low price level for wheat is beneficial for the livestock sector of the company and its customers. However, Vermeulen's mission is to achieve the highest possible price for affiliated growers. 'The result is slightly higher than last year. However, the price level is still far too low. The revenues were sharply disappointing. On average, 20 percent less has been harvested on one hectare. With a maximum of 8 tons you arrive at a balance of 1.240 euros per hectare. And 2.250 euros is the minimum to grow wheat profitably. Even considering the global market, that is not possible for the coming harvest. The hectoliter weights did not exceed 70. We knew it would be low, but this low. That surprised us. One batch had to be rejected because of fusarium.'
Collect grain from grower
The design of the pool will not change for the coming harvest. The sales system still functions well and, according to Vermeulen, there are no better alternatives yet. Every year there is an evaluation with a pool committee. 'Next harvest we will start collecting wheat from customers on a small scale. That is an experiment to see if there is enough interest for it. Our wheat pool is not the largest, but mainly a service that we offer. In our working area, the Betuwe, Veluwe and Achterhoek, little grain is grown. Arable farmers mainly focus on potatoes. The need to collect grain is low. A lot of grain goes directly to livestock farmers.'
Wheat suffers from drought
Vermeulen is still positive about the upcoming harvest, although he emphasizes the effect of the drought: 'The wheat is doing well, but is starting to show signs of persistent drought. Still, we expect an average harvest and hopefully even something above that. The wheat price is also currently on the rise, but whether this will continue remains to be seen. A plus of a few euros is nice, but it doesn't make a significant difference.'