Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

At the Perennia Conference, which was fantastic.

And Mark Campbell at AHDB, we really like talking with him, so I think this one's going to be good.

It will be great.

And

Yeah.

Alrighty, well, here we are.

Okay, our guest today is Laura Underdown, and Laura is with AHDB Agricultural Scientists.

Laura is in the UK in the Cotswolds area, moving soon to Devon, which when we were talking beforehand, I was letting Laura know that Devon is near and dear to my heart because it's beside Cornwall, which is where the wetters came from.

And that's why good stewardship, professionalism is so important.

And the education piece, we did the resistance roadshows with AHDB and DEFRA and the voluntary initiative last year, doing an education piece of managing resistance.

We have some herbicides, you know, topical herbicide glyphosate.

We're beginning to see resistance to it with some cases of Italian ryegrass through resistance.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices continue to move higher, which appears to have escaped the market's notice as grain prices fall into the abyss.

The AHDB released their UK early wheat production estimate at 12.074 million tonnes, up 116,000 tonnes year-on-year.

A small decrease in planted area was offset by a slight improvement in estimated UK average yield, while up on the year overall, regional yields varied widely, with a lack of rainfall impacting crops across the southern half of England.

Judging by the high number of shortfalls against farmer commitments, a rise in the average UK yield over last season seems a stretch, unless Scotland had a monster crop... which we don't know as the Scottish Government were unable to publish provisional Scottish cereal and oilseed production estimates.

Yeah.

How you can... that's what I'm saying the same place in Sheffield they were stamping half they were stamped halal and all because they were bleeding the same way so I think they need to we need to have a discussion with those people who think that's wrong so make them realize what the reality is but I believe we have our you know, second guest, he will give a better understanding of what's been happening is Awal Hussaini is a halal sector senior manager at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and author of a book on the science of halal slaughter.

So I welcome him in the show.

Peace be upon you.

Have a nice evening.

Inshallah.

So you were listening to Awal Fuseini, who was a halal sector senior manager at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and author of a book on the science of halal slaughter.

Some very interesting things that you mentioned as well.

And then the final update from our side is the Open Your Gate initiative.

So LEAF and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, AHDB, we're working together to help and support farmers to host farm visits and do that with confidence.

So the idea is bringing young people closer to farming and turning real on-farm experiences into lasting understanding and future choices for those, for that, for those young people, for that next generation.

So between AHDB and LEAF, we're giving 80 farmers the chance to take part in the School Farm Visits Support Program, and it includes fully funded CFAS training, and it will provide you with guidance and knowledge that you need to plan and deliver safe, high quality, and engaging farm visits.

Domestically, however, the UK supply position is tighter.

AHDB's final harvest survey puts the twenty twenty-six wheat yield at six-point-nine tons per hectare, eleven percent below the five-year average.

Moreover, the UK entered the season with relatively low stocks.

Twenty twenty-five, twenty-six commercial closing wheat stocks were one-point-five million tons, the lowest since twenty twenty, twenty-one.

The UK barley market presents two contrasting pictures.

Feed barley remains relatively well supported, whereas malting barley continues to face weak consumer demand despite being supported by quality concerns elsewhere.

AHDB's final harvest figures show winter barley performing comparatively well at six-point-nine tons per hectare, broadly in line with its five-year average.

Spring barley was much poorer at just four-point-eight tons per hectare, seventeen percent below average, although later crops in Scotland and Northern England improved the national figure.