UK/EU Plantings For Next Season

14/10/10 -- Strategie Grains reckon that EU-27 rapeseed plantings could be down 5% for the 2011 harvest, which is probably not a bad guess, based on lower sowings than anticipated in Germany and Poland due to wet weather in August and September.

They are pegging the total EU-27 oilseed area (including sunflowers) at 11.4 million hectares, compared to 11.7 million for this season.

The total grain area will increase to 57.2 million hectares from 56.0 million, with soft wheat and barley plantings both rising by 3%, whilst the corn area will by 4% higher, they say.

In the UK most pundits are forecasting an increase in the winter rapeseed area of around 5-10%, with ADAS saying that the crop was "was all drilled into plenty of moisture and has germinated really well and evenly and looks quite good so far."

If all goes well then we could be looking at our second record OSR crop in a row.

Only a modest increase in the UK wheat area is being forecast from the 1.9 million hectares sown for the 2010/11 crop, despite current high prices.

Disillusioned barley growers could shy further away from the grain again, so if you have bollocks the size of an African elephant that could be worth a punt. We may have just about got rid of two years worth of barley indigestion (and our intervention stocks) by then. Spring barley plantings could decline 5-10% as beer consumption in the UK continues to fall despite my best efforts.

Beans and peas area could also be in for a reduction is the word on the streets.