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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Better buying, better selling – Strategic grain marketing reaps top rewards

December 16th 2021

It may only seem a moment since the combines were put to bed. But it’s already time for growers to think about next year’s harvest if they are to maximise marketing opportunities. CPM gets the lowdown from farmer co-operative Openfield. By Natalie Noble, CPM Magazine Grain prices have been particularly buoyant this year – but global markets […]

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