News
With commodity prices reaching previously untraded territory, the effect on supply and demand is an unknown
May 1st 2022
In such a volatile market, every tonne of grain needs to be carefully looked after in order to preserve both its quality and price – with moisture a key area of concern when it comes to storage. Some days I feel we all need a crystal ball, comments Openfield’s head of compliance, shipping and research, […]
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The cereals and oilseeds market is full of questions, with few definitive answers – but don’t just put your head in the sand
April 1st 2022
The war in Ukraine has added yet more uncertainty to the worldwide commodity market, with energy prices hiking costs even further. Farmers need to take responsibility, as well as a good hard look at expected gross margin returns. In the last few years and, more specifically, in the last month, we have seen the world […]
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Does carbon sit at farm level, or travel with the commodity? Is it the farmer who benefits, or the end consumer?
March 1st 2022
With news stories often being misleading, and the absence of clear guidance from government either nationally or globally, the carbon trade is confusing even the most experienced traders. How many years count as ‘enough’ when it comes to experience? So asks Openfield’s head of compliance, shipping and research, Cecilia Pryce. As a junior trader, I […]
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The future may be hard to predict, but continue running all aspects of the calculations in an honest way, and ask more questions
February 1st 2022
Energy prices, carbon foot printing and costs of production are all likely to impact on-farm for a long time to come – but don’t let these negatively affect the final quality of stored grain. With oil and energy prices currently very high, I wonder how many farmers have had a look at their energy bills […]
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Openfield delivers 2021 profit in challenging times
January 25th 2022
Openfield Group Limited has reported its results to 30 June 2022. Notwithstanding the very challenging market conditions as a result of the poor 2020 harvest, the British farmer-owned grain marketing and arable inputs co-operative has reported a small profit of £0.1m for the year to 30 June 2021 (2020: Profit £0.4m). Anticipating the difficult […]
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In such a volatile grain market, you need to maintain a tight hold on your costs of production
January 4th 2022
The variables in grain production are so changeable, with such a finite level of control for the foreseeable future – but farming is about more than just what’s written down on paper. In a fast-moving news environment, it’s almost impossible to second guess the grain markets on a daily basis. We seem to limp from […]
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