Comment – good news, bad news, you decide?

What a week that was?

Like buses, no trade agreements for years and suddenly two in a week, one to keep the JLR and steel products flowing west, the other to access a £1.2Billion export potential for UK malt whisky and gin to the Indian market.

Now steady on, I hear you cry, what about the 13,000 t of beef which we have opened up our market to from the US. Before we get too hot under the collar, lets do some maths (and thank you Google for some quick numbers):

13k t of beef = 32,500 cattle on the hoof.

Just over 2 million prime cattle were slaughtered in the UK in 2024 according to AHDB, so the 32,500 cattle being displaced will account for about 1.5% of the UK total beef production. Now remember that the UK has much higher production standards than the USA, the UK will not be importing beef which doesn’t meet these standards, so the UK Government says – The Beeb has more on this here. Also it’s a reciprocal trade deal, allowing the UK to export up to 13000t of beef annual to the USA tariff free. So with some export support, the UK could carve out a decent high welfare, high quality, high margin market place over there.

With the India deal, the long term upside is likely to be the demand for malting barley..

As an aside I was amused to hear the leader of HM Governments opposition denounce the India deal, despite the previous government getting the wheels in motion three years ago, for this to come to fruition now.

This week, to the great delight of the machinery supply chain, the government also announced the long awaited Farm Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) will reopen on 29th May for a six week period. It includes such goodies as direct drills, straw rakes, robotic weeders, flail toppers, retrofit GPS and auto steer systems. Something for everyone, and a £46.7 million pot to be allocated by July. Read an overview here.

Now I know that the SFI schemes remain closed for now, and ditto the capital grants ones, but they are due later this year.

Elsewhere, its interesting to note that the UK’s biggest vertical farm has gone bust, no doubt due to crippling energy costs.

Still very dry here, and I noted one agronomy company advising growers to roll their maize after drilling ‘in order for the seed to come in contact with the soil’. I must have missed that little gem in my crop production lectures all those years ago. Hmmm..

And finally, what a great night was had at the UK Tractor and Truck Pull yesterday at Scorton, Lancs, noise, black smoke, the reek of methanol, great entertainment, a near lethal level of Schoffel clothing and finally an opportunity to catch up with friends and enjoy some relaxation, credit and thanks to the organisers for the experience.

Have a good week.

Andy