Tirlán has today (Wednesday, October 23) announced grain pricing for Harvest 2024, which includes prices €210/t for green feed barley and €220/t for green feed wheat.
The co-op has also announced that it will pay over €3 million in premiums for quality and value-added grains, such as gluten-free oats and high erucic acid rape (HEAR) oilseed rape.
Tirlán said that premium crops “continue to offer strong returns”, with €250/t for gluten-free oats and €505/t for HEAR oilseed rape.
The full list of Tirlán’s grain pricing for harvest 2024 is as follows:
Crop Price per tonne, excluding VAT* (€) Feed barley €210/t Feed wheat €220/t Malting barley €258/t Gluten-free Oats €250/t Standard Food Grade Oats €235/t Feed beans €250/t Oilseed rape €455/t HEAR Oilseed Rape €505/t Contracted Winter Barley €230/t Contracted Spring Barley €220/t Equine Oats (contracted) €220/t Feed Oats (uncontracted) €200/t Seed grain Feed price + €30/t
Tirlán noted that composite prices include standard transport allowances. Prices also include the Trading Bonus Scheme of €10/t, subject to minimum tillage input purchases.
John Murphy, Tirlán chair said that the 2024 season saw significant growth in Tirlán’s premium grain portfolio.
He said the emphasis on high-value crops such as gluten-free oats and HEAR oilseed rape, benefited farmers with “higher returns”.
“I am very pleased that for the first time, over 50% of our green grain intake has qualified for premium crop payments.
“Despite the challenges of the season, including higher costs and difficult weather, Tirlán’s green grain intake for 2024 will be over 173,000t.
“This reflects the resilience and hard work of our grain growers, who are to be commended for their dedication to producing high quality crops,” he said.
Tirlán
Tirlán’s Trading Bonus Scheme is continuing in 2024, offering €10/t for all eligible grain supplied, subject to the minimum tillage input criteria.
Murphy said that “the trading bonus is a recognition of the loyalty of the co-op’s tillage farmers”.
As previously announced on February 6, the Grain Trading Bonus will also be paid to non-shareholders for 2024 harvested crops in recognition of the challenging weather conditions and higher input costs facing farmers that supply their grain to the co-op.
Murphy also welcomed the recent announcement by the Malting Company of Ireland (MCI), which is planning to invest in its Cork facility in the coming months.
“This will support the continuing growth in demand for sustainable Irish malt and create value add opportunities for Tirlán tillage farmers who supply malting barley to the facility.
“The planned investment will expand MCI’s malt output by 60% to a projected 52,000t/year and will require an additional 25,000t of malting barley, generating significant grain price premiums for Tirlán tillage farmers,” he said.
The Malting Company of Ireland, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Tirlán and Dairygold, contracts some 40,000t of malting barley every year to produce 32,000t of malt for the Irish and international brewing and distilling industries.