Weather, morale, and prices show improvement

The general mental mood of farmers was buffered up from a very low base. The prospect of improving farmgate prices was an additional morale boost. Store cattle prices showed a welcome upward movement as plentiful grass supplies encouraged buyers to put more mouths in their fields. From a low, unprofitable base, grain prices can only go in one direction. There have been tentative indications that lower yield expectations globally, allied to ongoing disruptions in Eastern European grain production and trading, may pull prices up at least towards a breakeven point. Given the amount of lower value spring barley that is being planted currently, with few other options available to grain growers at this late stage in the season, some glimmer of hope for better harvest prices is welcome. Sheep prices have been defying market gravity, providing succour to hard-pressed shepherds. Lamb, hogget and even cull ewe prices have reached levels not seen before, with a €10/kg threshold for spring lamb being touched in some instances. Long may it last.