GB animal feed production remains steady: Grain market daily

• UK feed wheat futures (Nov-25) closed at £180.80/t yesterday, down £2.25/t from Monday’s close.
• Domestic wheat markets followed global price down yesterday on improved weather in key producers like the US and Russia and repositioning ahead of the USDA report on Monday. Both Chicago wheat and Paris milling wheat futures (Dec-25) dropped by 1%.
• Paris rapeseed futures (Nov-25) closed at €476.25/t yesterday, up €2.75/t on the day. European rapeseed gained support from Chicago soyabean futures, which were in turn driven by renewed optimism over upcoming US-China trade talks in Switzerland.

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Yesterday, AHDB released the GB animal feed production figures up to the end of March. Overall feed production (including integrated poultry units, IPUs) continued its year-on-year rise in March, building on the increase seen in February.  Production was 4.8% higher than a year earlier in March compared to a 3.3% rise in February.

For the season so far (July - March), this now means that total compound animal feed output in GB stands at 10.3 Mt, a 1.3% rise from the previous season. The July to February date total was up 0.8% on last season.

However, the July 2024 to March 2025 total is still 240 Kt below the five-year average. Within the current season-to-date (2024/25) total, cattle, sheep and other categories have recorded gains, while feed production for poultry and pigs has declined.

If GB animal feed production continues to edge up, it could help support total cereal usage for animal feed.

Maize usage still strong

So far this season (Jul-Mar), the use of wheat, barley, maize and oats by GB animal feed compounders is up 1.1% on the year at 3.7 Mt. This is a bigger year-on-year rise than was recorded in February (+0.8%).

Given the firm pace of maize imports this season and its competitive pricing compared to wheat earlier on, maize has seen the biggest jump in usage by GB compounders (Jul – Mar), up a sharp 36.8% year-on-year.

Over the July to March period, barley usage edged up by 2.4% due to its relative availability and competitive price to wheat this season. Meanwhile, wheat and oats usage saw declines of 3.0% and 17.3% respectively year-on-year. The smaller crop in 2024 reducing wheat usage as well as its price relative to other grains.

Wheat usage is also lower in IPU feed usage, reflecting the pattern seen among compounders. However, barley usage by IPUs followed a slightly different trend, falling by 3.5% year-on-year (July - March). Data on maize usage by IPUs is not available.

Summary

This data will be used, along with industry information, in the production of the next set of AHDB supply and demand estimates, which are due out at the end of the month. These estimates will offer insights for how cereal usage for animal feed might shape up for the rest of the season.

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