Dairy commodities in demand at Dutch auction

European dairy markets remain extremely buoyant, with positive signs again emerging from this week’s Dutch Dairy Board auction.

Butter increased by €20/t to €7,150/t, making it the third successive price increase in a row and putting the current price around €2,200/t ahead of the same week last year.

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Skim milk powder was unchanged at €3,560/t and is running €1,100/t above its corresponding value last year. However, following a €200/t price rise last week, whole milk powder eased by €100/t and now stands at €4,700/t.

That price is almost €1,600/t ahead of this time last year.

Ewe lambs top £232 at Torr Sheep sale

Breeding ewe lambs peaked at £232 for Suffolk Cheviot animals at the annual Torr sale in Armoy Mart.

Following the trend from recent breeding sheep sales, the top price was down from last year’s high point of £248.

Other leading prices for Suffolk Cheviots saw £216 paid, although the main run of pens made £128 to £180. Mule ewe lambs reached £174, well below the highs of £240 last year, with the main run of pens making £119 to £170.

A large consignment of store lambs also went under the hammer, and these were met with exceptionally strong demand, with £94 paid for Suffolk and Mule lambs with the main run of pens making £80 to £92.

Peat compost sales banned in England

All sales of peat compost to amateur gardeners will be banned in England by 2024, the UK government has announced.

Bagged compost in retail outlets accounts for 70% of peat sold in the UK and the upcoming ban aims to reduce demand for peat-based products and allow peatland restoration.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said healthy peatlands are needed “to lock up carbon, strengthen drought resilience and serve as a powerful nature-based solution to climate change”.

UK red meat exports at record high

The value of red meat exports from the UK hit a record high during the first six months of 2022, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

Total red meat exports in the first half of the year were worth £858m, up 27% on the year previous and 18% higher than the previous record seen in 2019.

In terms of value, beef exports were up 73% to reach £319m and lamb shipments rose by 32% to £245m.

Pork exports fell by 3.6% to £292m in value terms, although the volume of pork shipments increased by 9% to 193,000 tonnes.

Total beef, lamb and pork exports from January to June stood at almost 314,000t, up from 268,543t for the same period in 2021