Survey of Cereal Areas and Volumes, 1 April 2021
The objective of this AIMI survey of New Zealand (NZ) cereal growers was to determine, as at April 1, 2021: The size of the 2021 NZ harvest of wheat, barley and oats. The sales channels, storage status and unsold amount of the 2021 NZ harvest. The tonnages of carry-over stocks on farms from the 2020 NZ harvest. NZ sowings and sowing intentions of wheat, barley and oats (both milling/malting and feed) for the autumn and winter of 2021. Key points: Rainfall for the 2020-21 season was below average across many regions in New Zealand. Overall, yields were down 3% compared to last season (averaged over all six crops). Also, less hectares were harvested than last season (3% down), and the net result was a 6% decrease in total tonnage compared to last season. On the survey farms, the 2021 harvests of milling wheat and malting barley were 100% completed by 1 April, with feed wheat harvest 99.9% complete and feed barley harvest 95% complete. The harvests of milling oats and feed oats were 71% and 73% complete, respectively, by 1 April. Carry-over stocks (both sold and unsold) of feed wheat and feed barley are low. Unsold stocks on hand of last year’s feed wheat and feed barley crops were 1.6% and 0.3% of the 2020 harvest tonnages, respectively. Stocks of unsold feed wheat from the current harvest are down 26% on unsold stocks at this time last year. Unsold stocks of feed barley are down 24% as compared to this time last year, and unsold stocks of milling wheat are down 18%. Soil moisture levels remain low heading into winter and growers are hoping for rain to improve soil levels and recharge aquifers for the season ahead. Autumn/winter sowings of feed wheat are predicted to be similar (down by […]