AGM Blog



Flu Jab

Posted by on Nov 16, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

It is a sign of the time of year and perhaps my age that in recent days I have been invited for a Covid booster jab and a flu jab. As a trader both present an element of risk versus reward. A few potential hours of feeling somewhat groggy after the jab, versus the risk of a debilitating week of sickness, sweats, and aches at some point further into the autumn/winter period. The autumn Yorkshire wheat trade has seen us continue to trade the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. As the market digests and trades each piece of news or twist and turn of...

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From Russia With Love

Posted by on Oct 18, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

Monday this week saw two contrasting news items on Bloomberg. First in the inbox ‘Wheat Climbs to a Three-Month High on Rising Ukrainian War Worries.’  ‘Wheat closed at its highest price since June as traders considered a worsening Russia-Ukraine war against lacklustre US grain demand. The intensifying conflict calls into question whether the two sides will agree to extend a Ukraine grain-export deal that is set to expire in about a month.’ Second in the inbox ‘Crop Giant Cargill Sees Developing Nations Cutting Grain Demand.’ ‘A...

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The Corridor of Uncertainty

Posted by on Sep 21, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

The Chicago, Paris and London grain markets have eased and then firmed in tune with news from Russia this last month. The safe shipping corridor from the Southern Ukrainian port that opened in late August saw a tentative start to movements as the first ship loads tiptoed through the corridor at little over five knots per hour. Gradually as the number of vessels and the speed at which Wheat, Maize and Oilseeds began to leave Ukrainian waters commodity prices around the world began to ease. At the end of August UK feed wheat was trading in...

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I don’t like Cricket

Posted by on Sep 21, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

So, after our hosts at Country Week surprisingly published our advert and text from July 2021 entitled ‘Cricket’ in last weeks’ paper. A decision that was taken for reasons only they can explain. But have so far failed to do so. A decision that prompted several phone calls to this office regarding our state of mind, micky taking, and questioning whether we were living in a ‘Time Warp’ we now turn our attention to the ‘Bumper’ that is harvest 2022. This year’s harvest will for most have set many records. The earliest start and...

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Accountants

Posted by on Jul 14, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

Harvest 2022 is upon us, and the initial samples of winter barley seen in this office look promising. Early 6-row barley samples around the 65kg/hl mark and 2-row in the 68-70kg/hl. A quick review of the feed wheat purchases though out the previous season make some surprising reading. At a time when all have been fixated by wheat trading at over £300/tonne and some hopefuls predicting that it would reach £400/tonne the true reality of the market is seen in the following: -the Anderson Grain Marketing average ex farm august 2021 feed wheat...

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Russian Roulette

Posted by on Jul 14, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

The grain and cereals markets around the world continue to dance to the tune of Ukrainian and Russian war news. It has not been uncommon in recent days to see the Liffe, Matif and Chicago futures markets moving first £20 one way, to then, immediately be followed by a £15 move in the opposite direction. Most recently the bulk of this market reaction has been centred on news of Ukrainian grain shipments. In recent news, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi has reported that twenty million tonnes of grains and legumes as well as five...

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Schoffel

Posted by on May 24, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

So, the unofficial Young Farmers Rally weekend in Blackpool has been and gone. Dropping the youngest member of our team and a carload of his mates off at York station Friday morning. We were greeted at the last set of traffic lights with an ambulance at full trot, all lights and siren ablaze. This prompted a few fatherly words of advice to the carload of 21-year-old lads, like; make sure you stay out of the hospital and the police station this weekend. Hoots of derision all round as they replied what about the lap dancing clubs, brothels and...

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Hindsight 2

Posted by on May 24, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

Over a month has passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. UK wheat has traded at the farm gate within a range of £300-£310 per tonne. The daily movement within this range dependant on the over night news of peace talks or further attacks. At the time of writing on Tuesday morning the price of April/May 2022 wheat in Yorkshire has overnight jumped £5.00 per tonne and broken out of the range. The siege of Mariupol and the accusations regarding the use of chemical weapons, sparked further US and UK concerns and the possibility that...

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Hindsight

Posted by on May 24, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

So, Mr Putin’s insistence in February that his red army and teenage conscripts were engaged in nothing more than military drills on the Ukrainian border turned out to be nothing more than lies and utter b*****ks. Early March saw the invasion on Ukraine by Russian troops begin in earnest. Did we really believe that 130,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border was a training exercise? Back in early February Yorkshire feed wheat was trading at £225 / tonne ex farm. On the first day of March we bought Yorkshire feed wheat at £260/ tonne ex...

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My Word is My Bond

Posted by on Feb 16, 2022 in AGM News | 0 comments

Much has happened since we last wrote in November. Throughout December and particularly early January grain prices locally came under pressure. Feed wheat traded ex farm down to high teens. Falling demand on the back of the poor pig and poultry trade and the bird flu threat combined with the huge amounts of imported wheat and maize had moved market sentiments more to the bearish side of the equation. Import/export figures to the end of November had season to date imports of wheat at 1.145 million tonnes and season to date imports for maize...

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