Before wheat prices rose, supplier CAV Agrotheek from Wieringerwerf (North Holland) had already completed its grain pool for the 2017 harvest. The collector is able to negotiate a good price for the supply of feed and malting barley.
The CAV Agrotheek grain pool ran until Monday, April 30. "Because grain prices fluctuated little between August 2017 and April 2018, a fairly stable payment was achieved," explains general manager Jeroen de Schutter. "The grain price only started to rise seriously in May. This effect is not reflected in the pool price."
Higher barley price
The net payment price for the 2017 harvest is €150 per tonne. That's €3 under it result of the 2016 harvest and comparable to the results of the other grain pools. The net payment price for feed barley is €140 per tonne and that of the spring barley variety Quench €163 per tonne. Last year this was €133 and €153 per tonne respectively, a significant difference in relative terms. The lower transport costs, as a result of local sales, and the good malting barley market are the causes of this (according to De Schutter).
CAV Agrotheek is increasingly selling wheat and feed barley locally to (poultry) farmers; Quite a lot of spring barley is grown on Texel. "Arable farmers pay a lot of attention to this, which means the quality is very good. We try to sell that barley to malt houses. Not an easy business, but if you meet all the premiums, it can yield a nice premium."
No drying costs
The payment prices are based on grain that was in storage at CAV Agroteek. The storage costs have already been included in this. The company charges no drying costs up to a moisture percentage of 17% and makes no reduction in the payment price. "Many growers choose to sell their grain at the daily price," says De Schutter. "It is also worth noting that the area in our working area is shrinking, resulting in a decrease in the total volume collected. The volume is very small at 6.000 tons of wheat and 300 tons of barley."
This season the area has remained stable. However, less winter grain has been sown and more spring wheat and spring barley. The popularity of winter barley is increasing because it is ready for harvest early. "This is positive for the deadline for spreading organic manure and sowing a green manure. The disadvantage is that you have to be able to sow early in September. With wheat, it is easier to manage variety selection later in the year and a high yield can be achieved. achieve.”
High yields
Almost all the grain brought in has been harvested under good conditions. The quality is also good with hectoliter weights between 74 and 75 and for barley this is 63 to 64. De Schutter calls that good, but not extremely good. "Winter wheat is in good condition. The flowering period has been dry, so we expect high yields of over 10 tons. Drought damage is not an issue. This is a different story for summer grains. Here we expect a maximum of 7 to 7,5 tons per hectares. The volume to be collected will therefore most likely decrease slightly."