AT LAST we have got some old-fashioned summer harvest weather to let the combines get on with their job, though weather forecasts are for more rain to come as you read this.

Thankfully, too, the quality of the winter barley has continued to improve as harvest moves northm though yields are not special.

Early reports from the south show spring barley quality is good, with low screenings, reasonable nitrogen levels and yields are 'satisfactory'.

Poor French barley yields and quality have meant that continental buyers of both feed and malting barley are looking to the UK to make up the shortfall. A weak pound means purchases from the UK look good value, helping to support UK prices.

The rising value of feed wheat in the UK has made feed barley look good value to the UK's compound trade, with barley £12-£15 per tonne cheaper than wheat.

Feed wheat ex farm was up £1.60 to £117.60 and feed barley was up 40p to £97.40. However, bread milling quality wheat was down £7.20 to £132.90 and the decrease in the bread wheat price is down to two things.

Firstly, harvest is now underway, with supplies starting to come to the market. Secondly, early information from this year’s harvest suggests the potential for better than expected quality wheat is emerging as harvest progresses – but it is still early days.

Weaker sterling was again a key factor in supporting UK prices last week. The pound fell to €1.16 – the lowest level since August, 2013 – and also slipped below $1.30, the lowest since the mid-1980s towards the end of the week.

This weakening of sterling against a number of different currencies, including the euro and the US dollar, has helped to improve our export competitiveness. From the beginning to the end of June, sterling fell 6% and 7% against the euro and US dollar, respectively and raised the question as to just how low sterling could go.

The Liffe feed wheat futures for November, 2016, were up £3.75 on the week to £130.75 – the first time wheat futures have been above £130 since October, 2015. November, 2017, futures were up £3.20 to £135.90 and for November, 2018, up 60p to £139.35.

Oilseed rape futures were also up £9 on the week, including being up £5 in one day earlier this week and oilseed rape delivered Erith was up £8.50 to £319.50, or the highest spot value since May, 2014.

UK rapeseed yields, though, have been generally disappointing which, along with weaker sterling, is giving support to UK delivered prices.

Harvest results in the UK are showing marked reduction in OSR yields, typically at 3.0-3.2t/ha and this is below the average of 3.6 t/ha. This could mean that UK rapeseed imports may rise this season and the UK and EU may look to Australia and Canada for their supplies.

The USDA forecast record US soya yields and is expected to increase global soya production by 4.5m tonnes and it is now estimated that that global production will be 17.7m tonnes higher than 2015/16 at 330.4m tonnes.

Similarly, the US maize crop for 2016 is estimated at 375m tonnes, compared to 345m tonnes last year and China will not help to use up some of this extra tonnage. It sold a further 213,000 tonnes of maize from state reserves this week and its June, 2016, barley and sorghum imports are reported to be approximately 50% lower than June, 2015.

Ukraine's wheat and barley harvests are nearing completion, with wheat yields reported at 4.25t/ha, compared to 3.9 t/ha last year and barley up from 3.02 t/ha in 2015 to 3.4 tonnes in 2016.

Following disappointing winter barley quality and poor oilseed rape yields, news of the UK wheat harvest is far more encouraging.

With harvest more than a third completed in the south of England, samples tested so far suggest we could see a widespread high quality crop. Specific weight and hagberg are above the minimum milling specifications and proteins are, on average, above last year.

Yields are being reported as mixed and definitely below last year’s record level.

This is in contrast to France and Germany, which are having a poor wheat harvest. At a predicted 24.2m tonnes, this will be Germany’s smallest wheat crop since 2012 and their rapeseed crop is 10% down on last year.

Both Germany’s winter and spring barley crops are forecast down 9% on last year. We should remember, however, that while French and German crop sizes are falling, forecasts for other major exporters are increasing, including Russia.

In fact, the size of the increases for other major exporters more than offset the declines for the EU.

Russia’s wheat production is up 7m tonnes, Ukraine and Kazakhstan wheat are up by 2m tonnes each and this offsets the drop of 9m tonnes in the EU, which is largely as a result of problems with the French wheat harvest.

France will see a wheat crop below 30m tonnes and will see the worst yields since 1986 – that's compared to a wheat production total of 41m tonnes last year. The quality this year is also poor and, with still 25% of the harvest to gather in due to non-stop wet weather, that's not going to get any better.