Crude price weighs on oilseed rape farmers’ prospects
THE world is going to produce lower volumes of high-yielding oilseeds – oilseed rape (OSR) and sunflower – this season, according to the latest analysis by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board .
Despite this, OSR prices remain uninspiring for UK farmers, with global prices depressed by big supplies of soy beans.
Low crude oil prices, that are reducing the economics of free-market biodiesel blending, and plentiful supply of crude are just two factors behind the price depression.
With oil content around the 40 per cent mark, the OSR price is more dependent on the value of the oil than soy beans, whose oil content is approximately 20 per cent.
Relative to prices for the other oilseed component, the protein meal, oil prices have fallen much faster – impacting high oil-yielding oilseeds the most. LAWRIE & Symington Ltd sold 384 pedigree Texel ram lambs in Lanark on Thursday to a top of 70,000gns for one from George Howie’s Knock flock.
That was followed by two bids at 32,00gns, first for one of David Houghton’s Tophill flock and then for the best in Donald McPherson’s Hexel consignment.
At the end of the day’s trading the sale average was £2,313.64 (-£168.04 on the year).
Messrs Craig Wilson Ltd sold 155 store heifers at Ayr on Thursday to a top of £1,160 per head and 262.1 pence per kilogramme to average £898.74 and 215.1p (+2.5p on the fortnight).
The 252 store, beef-bred bullocks peaked at £1350 and 247.9p to level at £992.48 and 222p (+3.4p).
One hundred store, B&W bullocks sold to £915 and 178.8p to average £751.45 and 159.4p (-2.2p).
The firm also had 1,214 store lambs forward at their third lamb sale of the season that sold to £60.50 for the Beltex, £60 for the Texels, £58 for the Suffolks, £47 for the Mules and £42 for the Blackfaces to average at £54.12 overall (+£2.77 on the week).
The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart sold 2,318 prime lambs in Longtown on Thursday to a top of £83 per head and 189p per kg to then average at 149.3p (+6.7p on the week).
There were also 5,584 cast sheep forward when heavy ewes sold to £135 for Texels and averaged £65.53 (-£7.06), while light ewes peaked at £72 for Lleyns and levelled at £41.51 (+£2.17).
Rams sold to £220 for a Charollais and averaged £85.25.
The firm went on to sell 2,897 Scotch Mule gimmers in Dumfries yesterday to a top of £163 for a pen off Laight to average £123.11 (-£11 on the year).
The 2525 Scotch Mule ewe lambs peaked jointly at £130 f or Ni sb et and Parkgatestone to level at £84.44 (-£17).