Evaluating the potential of your grain

When it comes to selling wheat, many growers revert to selling it for animal feed, however, it is important to evaluate and maximise the potential of grain in terms of market and premiums, as many could be missing out on opportunities to add value to their grain.  

It is important to remember that not only group one varieties on the recommended list have the potential to offer a premium, as many group twos, threes and fours can also provide this if the specs are met, which many of them are capable of. 

In Season 3, Episode 7 of the Wynnstay Agri-Hub podcast, Rob Hess one of our Senior Traders at GrainLink has joined me to discuss the potential of grain in terms of how growers can optimise quality and ultimately achieve the best price possible.

There is no doubt it has been a challenging harvest, with the weather making it difficult to combine in the ideal conditions. As a result, the grain samples that are coming in are a real mixed bag. 

The samples indicate: 

• Varying yields
• Mixed quality
• Low proteins in some instances where growers cut back on fertiliser to save costs
• Low hagberg levels 

When it comes to sampling grain, there are several different ways this can be done: 

• Take a sample from each trailer and put it into a bucket, mix it up to get an average for the shed – this can then either be sent to Wynnstay’s in-house lab or a lab nearer to you for analysis.
• Alternatively, Wynnstay can come out on farm and take samples from the shed – either of specific varieties or from specific areas of the shed.

Once the analysis has been undertaken, the report will provide insights into the quality and the GrainLink team can provide recommendations around the most suitable end market for that grain. 

Not all growers plan to sell their grain immediately, so after analysis, it is important not to forget about that crop.

Nine months have gone into growing the crop, so you do not want to lose that quality in storage – to avoid bugs and hotspots, keep monitoring the crop and keep the temperature down in the store.

With the varieties of grain on recent recommended lists, it is fair to say that group one, two, three and four varieties all have premium potential. However, in most cases they are automatically written off as feed wheat – there are a lot of missed opportunities out there. 

It’s always worth getting it tested even if the market isn’t there now – it might be at a later date.

Premiums do vary year on year, but this year with the weather and the mixed bag of grain – there’s a bigger gap between feed wheat and milling wheat prices – showcasing bigger opportunities. 

Current premiums (August 2023) are: 

• Group one - £50/tonne on top of feed wheat
• Hard wheat - £5-10/tonne on top of feed wheat
• Group two - almost as much as group one 

For example, Pallidium and Extase all have a premium close to group one at the moment. 

When it comes to premium specs for hard wheat varieties, such as Graham, Costello and Dawsum, the threshold is 10.7% protein which is more than achievable. 

It is not too late to sell your grain for milling – at the moment samples can still be taken and if the market and quality is there it can be upgraded to milling wheat, even if it’s been forward sold as feed wheat. 

If growers would like to explore different avenues and see if there could be a potential to increase the value of their grain, then reach out to the GrainLink team. They can provide advice around sampling, take into consideration the risk factors based on the analysis, and provide recommendations on the best end market for the grain.