Dewing Grain Podcast

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 Webby to mark over seven years of the podcast — not bad going. A quick note: the main chat was recorded before the market dropped on Friday, so Andrew has added an up to date take on proceedings.It's been a week of bombshells. British Sugar announced the closure of the Cantley factory, and Frontier are shutting their Diss and Eye stores — big news for the region. The pair also discuss oil creeping back towards $100 a barrel, and Andrew shares his dream for what the current market conditions could deliver.

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.

In this week's Bitesize, Andrew opens with an update on the winter barley harvest so far. He moves on to Ukraine hitting the Russian shadow fleet and the closure of the Azov Strait — one to watch. Andrew expects feed barley to follow the momentum of feed wheat, and shares his belief that crop sizes are shrinking. He rounds things off on a brighter note — OSR is shaping up to be the crop of the year.

This week Andrew is back and joined by Ben and Webby. They start by looking at the issues coming in with the early winter barley samples, before turning to the disappointing value of feed barley. Ben brings up the situation in India, and the team round things off with a look at oil and shipping.🚶 Podcast walk — Tuesday 7th, 2pm, Dewing Grain Aylsham office. Boots on. 

This week the reins are handed to Joe, Webby and Harry while Andrew is away. They kick things off with the hot weather and what it's doing to crops, before Joe and Webby give a debrief from the Norfolk Show on Wednesday. Joe also reflects on the 10 year anniversary of Brexit — pop the champagne. Apologies also for the intermittent technical difficulties with Webby's mic. We're working on it.🚶 Podcast walk — 7th July, 2pm, location TBC. Boots on standby.

This week Andrew is joined by Joe, Ben and Webby. Andrew kicks off with the news that malting barley is looking good across Europe and Scotland — which, unfortunately, doesn't bode well for values. He talks about maltsters moving away from winter barley, before the team get into Andrew's guest appearance on the Farmers Weekly Podcast at Cereals. They also discuss the messages coming out of the latest season of Clarkson's Farm, and round things off with a look at carbon imports and the unfair playing field UK farmers are facing.🚶 Podcast walk — 7th July, 2pm, location TBC. Boots on standby.