Dewing Grain Podcast

This week Andrew is joined by Joe, Ben and Webby. Ben opens with a debrief from his recent visit to the House of Commons with the AIC. Webby then proceeds to show his age with some thoughts on phones. The team get into imports, Donald Trump's latest bribe, and Ben covers the recent Houthi activity. In breaking news, Ben has announced he will be braving the shave within the next six months — you heard it here first.Apologies for Joe's microphone being a little temperamental this week — new cables are on the way.

In this week's Bitesize, Andrew opens by acknowledging the recent lack of guests — normal service will resume soon. He moves on to the big news of the moment: Putin wants peace? Andrew shares his belief that once autumn drilling is out of the way, farmers will start to move more grain. He covers the feed barley market holding up well, touches on the cheap wheat stuck in Russia, and rounds things off with a look at the potential challenges farmers could face this season.

This week Andrew is joined by Joe, Ben and Webby. They open with a look at the changing sources of world wheat, before Ben gets into President Xi's visit to the US. Andrew weighs in on Trump's latest antics — never a dull moment — before closing things out with some thoughts on the importance of the malting industry and why it deserves more attention than it gets.

It's the 400th episode of the Dewing Grain Podcast — and what better way to mark the occasion than a trip through history. Andrew is joined by Liz to dig into the Dewing family story, from the possibility that the Dewings traded grain with Coke of Holkham, to the extraordinary claim that they may have taught Lord Nelson to sail. Andrew also shares how the Dewings played a significant role in establishing the corn exchange in Norwich. Four hundred episodes in, and there's still plenty of story left to tell.

This week Andrew is joined by Susie Emmett, President of the Aylsham Show this year. They open by giving a well-deserved nod to everyone who puts in the hard work to set up and run the show. The conversation turns to the struggles farmers are currently facing, before Susie shares her plans to celebrate women in agriculture at this year's event. They also touch on the charitable donations the show makes each year — a reminder that it's about much more than just a great day out.

This week Andrew is joined by Ben and Webby. Andrew and Ben open with a debrief from the recent trip, with special thanks to Daniel Liddell and Copenhagen Merchants for their hospitality. Andrew shares some encouraging news on malting barley prices improving on farm, before Webby reports that East Anglia's harvest is nearly wrapped up. Ben then graciously thanks Webby and Harry for holding down the fort while he and Andrew were away — though the sincerity of that gratitude remains firmly up for debate. Webby then vents his frustrations with a market that seems determined to ignore a stack of bullish news, and Andrew reveals that Ben forgot his Dewing Grain hat on the trip — resulting in a rather red forehead. A rookie error.

This week Andrew is joined by Webby and Ben to discuss a rapid harvest and last week's brutal drop in market prices. The team question why the market hasn't reflected recent political events, and why spring barley is performing so poorly — with a 65% loss rate and considerable variability in the spec of barley coming into store. Feed wheat prices are looking up though, and Norfolk has finally had some rain.Ben and Andrew also announce an upcoming trip to Scandinavia. They turn their attention to OSR — is it still as profitable as it once was? With planting season approaching, concerns are growing for those with no plants in the ground and crop grants on the line. Food security worries across the UK and Europe also surface.

This week Andrew is joined by Ben and Webby to dig into the recent price rally. Webby notes that the trade seems a little less starry-eyed second time around for the recent conflict escalations in Ukraine and Russia. The team debate whether farmers should be looking at selling 2027 crop and sitting tight on 2026 for now. There's some cautiously good news on spring barley retention, and Ben rounds things off by making entirely unverified claims about his youthful escapades. We'll let the listeners decide.