Crop storage Standards are key to vibrant UK cereals sector – NFU leader


Lower standard imported wheat should not be used in British-baked bread sold in Union Jack packaging, NFU presi- dent Minette Batters (pictured right) has warned.


Calling for an end to what she described as hypocrisy on grain stand- ards, Mrs Batters told the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC) annual conference that maintaining


UK production values was key to a vi- brant UK cereals sector post-Brexit. The UK imported a signifi cant tonnage of grain produced to lower standards, she told 200 delegates at- tending the online event. In the case of milling wheat, it could make it into bread loaves in packaging emblazoned with a Union Jack fl ag.


Mrs Batters said the practice was


leaving growers frustrated that high standard wheat wasn’t getting the brand recognition it deserved through assurance schemes such as Red Tractor. A reformed Red Tractor was still the right vehicle to deliver that brand recognition, she added. But it should perhaps include bread packaging with the percentage of home grain grains used in its production.


Want to know the latest wheat prices? Just ask Alexa...


W


heat futures prices availa- ble via Amazon smart speak- ers are increasingly popular


thanks to a new Alexa skill developed by Openfi eld. Farmers wanting to know how


wheat futures are doing have been able to do so since last autumn. They can also Ask Alexa to fi nd out the value of their Openfi eld Crop Fund and how their loading schedule is looking – and listen to any chat messages which have been received. Openfi eld head of IT Michael Good- year said: “Our in-house technology team has worked with farmers to deliv- er our innovative new App and a brand new way to interact with Openfi eld us- ing Alexa.” He added: “We’re proud of the depth


of information available and we’re al- ready working on some fantastic en- hancements, including price alerts and a new fertiliser selector tool which will be added very soon.”


“


We’re proud of the depth of information available


The Openfi eld App includes many


favourites from Openfi eld’s Farm- er Portal, Insight including access to contracts, loading schedules, Track My Truck, Futures prices, a handy chat function and the seed selector. Accessible on a tablet or smartphone farmers can view three years’ worth of account details, including movement periods, contract prices and tonnage.


Transport schedules The loading schedule brings up a smart way to view all planned collections, in- cluding variety, tonnage, timing and


26 MIDLAND FARMER • FEBRUARY 2021


Openfi eld now offers wheat price updates by Amazon’s smart speaker


haulage contact details. This ensures all the information needed is availa- ble for each and every collection help- ing farmers to plan their time more ef- fectively. Track My Truck allows farmers to anticipate when a lorry, which is using Openfi eld’s tracking tool, is on its way to the farm. This feature allows grow- ers to set email or text alerts, inform- ing them exactly how far away a collec- tion is from their farm.


Latest information This means farmers can pinpoint where the driver is and ensure everything is ready to make the collection as quick and effi cient as possible.


Producers can access the London wheat futures and send chat messages so the Openfi eld team can react quick- ly to any questions. Openfi eld’s seed selector is a simple to use interactive tool. It enables farm- ers to select seed varieties by answer- ing a few quick questions. The Openfi eld App is now available


from App Store or Google Play by search- ing for Openfi eld Insight.


Lower profits ‘in line with expectations’


Openfi eld says a 20% drop in annual profi ts for the year to 30 June 2020 was in line with expectations. The company reported profi ts of £400,000 compared to £500,000 for 2019 – but said it performed well for its members ahead of the challenging 2020 harvest. As a result, profi t was impacted by the restruc- ture of its operations and investment in new logis- tics software and systems that will reduce future costs and further improve member service.


Export potential The 2019 harvest pro- duced a larger wheat crop than in recent years which created export potential,


whilst the good quality crop reduced imports to a minimum. The barley crop saw Openfi eld’s highest ex- port volumes for four years with vessels going to Sau- di Arabia.


The 2019 crop year also


saw the continuing reduc- tion of the oilseed rape crop resulting in the largest im- ports on record. Total ex- ported volumes for 2019 crop reached a four year high at 912,000 tonnes. Openfi eld chairman Philip Moody said: “I’m very pleased to see Open- fi eld continuing to deliver sustained profi tability. We have proactively restruc- tured our operations to prepare for a small crop year in 2020.


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