Glanbia confirms grain prices for Harvest 2021

Glanbia will pay its Members €210/tonne for green feed barley and €220/t for green feed wheat, with premium grains delivering strong additional returns for growers.

Glanbia Ireland’s dedicated grains team has worked with farmers to substantially expand the area sown to value-added premium crops.

More than 40% of the total grain intake delivers a market premium for growers.

Over €2 million in premiums over and above the feed price will be paid to farmers for delivering food-grade and other value-added crops in Harvest 2021.

This is equivalent of a premium of over €20/tonne on average for value-added grains.

Premium crops such as High Erucic Acid Rapeseed (HEAR) delivered €575/t, with gluten-free oats at €260/t returning strongly for growers.

Commenting on the announcement, Glanbia Co-op Chairman John Murphy said: “The strong worldwide markets for grains was evident in 2021. It was good to note that Harvest 2021 was one of the best for growers in the last 20 years with prices and yields well above the long-term averages.

“It is welcome to see the strong premiums that value-added crops are delivering for growers.

“We are completing a state-of-the-art R&D facility on site in Ballyragget which will give us significant capabilities for our talented team of food technologists to work with the top quality grains from our family farms to develop new and exciting opportunities for food ingredients.”

The overall Glanbia green grain intake was up over 10% on the previous year.

John Kealy, Glanbia Ireland’s Head of Grains, said the team was continuing to work with our premium customers to deliver and expand on value-added opportunities for our growers.

“Harvest 2021 saw the acreage of HEAR Oilseed rape more than treble. Further significant increases are expected in 2022 with strong interest from growers.

“As the largest buyer of Irish grains, Glanbia Ireland uses only Irish cereals in rations sold through our Agri Business,” said Mr Kealy.

Glanbia Ireland has worked throughout 2021 to ensure growers are equipped with more information, including forward pricing options, to make informed decisions that suit their individual businesses through the issuing of prices and global market updates on a weekly basis.

First Published: 22 September 2021