Glanbia has announced its grain prices for Harvest 2021 - revealing that it will pay its members €210/t for green feed barley and €220/t for green feed wheat, "with premium grains delivering strong additional returns for growers".

Claiming that its grain team has worked with farmers to "substantially expand the area sown to value-added premium crops", the firm said that more than 40% of the total grain intake delivers a market premium for growers.

Over €2 million in premiums over and above the feed price will be paid to farmers for delivering food-grade and other value-added crops in Harvest 2021.

This is the equivalent of a premium of over €20/t on average for value-added grains, Glanbia says.

Premium crops such as High Erucic Acid Rapeseed (HEAR) delivered €575/t, with gluten-free oats at €260/t returning strongly for growers.

Commenting on the announcement, Glanbia Co-op chairman John Murphy said: “The strong worldwide markets for grains was evident in 2021.

"It was good to note that Harvest 2021 was one of the best for growers in the last 20 years, with prices and yields well above the long-term averages.

Murphy added that a "state of the art" research and development facility is currently being completed at the company's Ballyragget site.

The overall Glanbia green grain intake was up over 10% on the previous year.

John Kealy, Glanbia Ireland’s head of grains, said the team was continuing to work with its premium customers to deliver and expand on value-added opportunities for its growers.

“Harvest 2021 saw the acreage of HEAR Oilseed rape more than treble. Further significant increases are expected in 2022 with strong interest from growers.

“As the largest buyer of Irish grains, Glanbia Ireland uses only Irish cereals in rations sold through our agribusiness,” said Kealy.