Following one of the earliest harvests in many years, tillage farmers are still awaiting the announcement of harvest prices by the two major co-ops. While farmers have been paid on account, they are now planting 2026 crops without knowing their final payment for 2025.

It’s hard to make business sense of this and given the early harvest, many people are wondering what the delay in announcing these prices is.

Private merchants appear reluctant to finalise prices ahead of the co-ops announcements. Some may have settled prices with individual farmers, but most are probably waiting in case of a kick back if they announce a price and the co-ops announce a higher price.

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Meanwhile, reports are that little Irish barley is being traded. This is not a surprise; businesses will not trade something when they haven’t decided how much it costs to buy.

Farmers currently planting should work off a pessimistic price when deciding on what crops to plant. We published the Teagasc costs and returns a few weeks ago, and those figures were fairly realistic in current markets.

Looking at global prices, there is no news in the market to make markets jump. The MATIF wheat price for December was at €188/t (dry) on Wednesday afternoon.

It has been hovering around the same place since late September when it found a new low.

Matif wheat for December 2026 is at €211/t (dry) for context for Harvest 2026 prices. A fall in the euro against the dollar could help to make European grain more competitive. The higher dollar will also impact on the competitiveness of US grain.

Chicago Board of Trade Wheat and maize were down slightly this week. London wheat was relatively stable.

The US Government shut down meant that no crop progress reports came out this week and the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report due on 9 October may not be published on that day.

Maize is trading under wheat in France. Maize imports to Ireland remain higher than wheat and barley at present, which helps with competition.

Rapeseed

On Friday, the French oilseed rape price for November fell to €458/t. That’s going back to prices seen last March, after which prices picked up until the end of June and have been dropping since. However, this week saw positivity.

On Wednesday afternoon, the November price was at €469.50/t. That’s €11.50/t ahead of last Friday’s close.

Growers should keep an eye on markets and have their costs done and possibly sell a small bit at a profitable price to reduce risk in their businesses.