A JUMP in US corn prices following a forecast of a smaller crop has helped lever-up AWB wheat pool prices for the 2010-11 harvest, despite the rising Australian dollar.
AWB this week lifted its eastern pool prices by $5 to $13 a tonne with APH1 (14 per cent protein), AH14, APW1 and ASW1 all up $10 to $385/t, $382/t, $337/t and $327/t respectively free on board, excluding GST.
AWB’s general manager commodities, Mitch Morison, said the release by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) of a reduced forecast for this year’s US corn crop had been the catalyst for the stronger wheat market.
The USDA last Friday cut its corn crop forecast by four per cent on its September figure to 12.7 million bushels.
It said yields were expected to average 155.8 bushels an acre (about 390 bushels a hectare), down from the September estimate of 164.7 bushels an acre (412 bushels/ha).
Mr Morison said the USDA report had also forecast end-season corn stocks at their lowest level in 15 years.
“The market reaction was swift, with wheat futures generally rising close to daily allowable limits,” he said.
“We have been very fortunate that this has come along at the same time as the Australian dollar keeps strengthening, otherwise our pool estimates might have gone the other way.”
Armatree district farmer, Andrew Peart said if wheat prices held up at current levels during harvest it would be “pretty handy”.
Mr Peart this year has sown 363 hectares of wheat and 290ha of lupins on his 1000ha mixed property, “Karoona”, where he also runs about 580 first-cross ewes.
Despite some heavy rain this season, he said his wheat crop was holding up, although the lupins had suffered some damage from water coursing through the paddock.
He said even the 25 to 50 millimetres of rain expected today would “not hurt much” and would help fill out some later wheat crops.
“It has been drying out, even for grazing,” he said.
Mr Peart said his wheat should yield about three tonnes a hectare and possibly more, which was an above average figure for the district.
This was in contrast to well below average yields last year.