Growers who supplied cereals, oilseed rape and pulses to Glanbia this harvest and who are not members of the co-op will not receive the €14/t bonus announced by the company yesterday (Thursday, October 12).
Instead, these growers will receive €133/t and €143/t for feed barley and wheat, respectively.
As already reported, Glanbia members will be paid €147/t and €157/t for feed barley and wheat. The company also announced a rebate of €7/t on fertiliser purchased by its members.
Also Read: €147/t for green barley: Glanbia sets its grain pricesThis means that farmers who supply Glanbia but who are not members must produce more grain to break-even.
Image source: Shane Casey
Non-members needed to grow 0.8t/ha more than members, to break-even on their winter wheat and winter barley crops this year. This is evident from the table (below).
| Winter wheat | Spring wheat | Winter barley | Spring barley | Winter wheat | Spring wheat | Winter barley | Spring barley | |
| Variable costs (€/ha) | 1,237 | 1,058 | 1,140 | 931 | 1,237 | 1,058 | 1,140 | 931 |
| Price (€/t) | 143 | 143 | 133 | 133 | 157 | 157 | 147 | 147 |
| Break-even grain yield (t/ha) | 8.7 | 7.4 | 8.6 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 7.8 | 6.3 |
These figures exclude VAT and are based on Teagasc’s ‘Crop Costs and Returns 2017’. Straw is not included.
Also Read: Cereal crops: What tonnage is now needed to break-even?IFA Grain Committee chairman, Liam Dunne, was not happy with the announcement when he spoke to AgriLand.
Dunne explained: “It’s not fair. They’re penalising people who are doing business with them just because they can’t afford to buy shares.
That’s grossly unfair and that’s one of the things that we discussed with Glanbia.
“People who purchased inputs from them should be rewarded for that much at least. People who bought inputs should be getting some share out of this, because they are supporting the co-op.”
(L-R) Peter Lynch, Kieran McEvoy, Liam Dunne and James Hill pictured protesting at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine during recent months
Transport allowance from 2018
Glanbia also announced that all 2018 prices quoted will include a standard transport allowance of €3/t. Higher allowances will be paid to growers located greater than 15km from Glanbia’s drying locations.
This allowance is to encourage farmers to deliver their produce to a grain intake with drying facilities. At present Glanbia operates 40 grain intake points. 16 of these intake points have drying facilities. 24 are ‘intermediate’ intake points.
Glanbia stated that the ‘intermediate’ intake points will remain available but crops delivered to these intake points will not qualify for a transport allowance.