Orion Farming Monthly Newsletter April 2026
- Orion Farming Group
- Apr 1
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
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Welcome to April’s newsletter
The season and crops seem to be flying on! Crops still look well but we are seeing some high disease pressure now. There has been a very high demand for tebuconazoles. Whilst we have good supplies at the moment and there are no clear reports of shortages it may be worth forecasting your needs and getting your orders in.
Fuel, Fertiliser - effects of the war
As of today, the 30th March, the war on Iran continues, despite mixed messages around de-escalation talks. The impact has been massive. Not just the human, political and economical costs but on our industry here in the UK. Fuel has nearly doubled in some cases and Ammonium Nitrate had increased by £150/t and Urea by £200/t.
Fertiliser suppliers are withdrawing prices on a daily basis sometimes even multiple times in the day. Some suppliers have withdrawn from the market all together.
Most fuel suppliers are not giving price lists at this stage. They are pricing orders on the day of delivery. It is so difficult to predict how long this will go on and what prices will do, but please bear with us as we try to manage everyone’s needs.
Attendance at the Cluster Group meeting
Wed 25th March
We exhibited at the Cluster Group meeting on Wednesday. It was opened with a speech by Minnette Batters around the importance of collaboration in our industry and the important role that cluster groups can play.
The Evenlode Recovery Project is the Uks largest farmer-led nature restoration project. It is backed by more than £100 Million.
It was very well attended by farmers and suppliers, and I had many positive discussions.
Written by Stuart Goodinson GM
Newsletter topics for April 2026
Events
Cereals 10th-11th June at Diddly Squat Farm
Orion Farming will be attending the Cereals event this June. We are pleased to be working with our long-term partners, County Insurance. They have been kind enough to share their stand with us.
We will both be working under the theme ‘Protecting Your Future’
We will be ready to chat through all the ways Orion and County Insurance can help shield farmers from uncertainty and volitivity of markets and risks.
County Insurance will have some guest speakers on the stand as well as some very fine catering!
Come and chat to us on the stand, we would be very pleased to meet you!
Fertiliser Update
Deliveries have been and remain difficult. All suppliers are struggling to keep up. New orders today are taking 2 weeks. We do our very best to keep the pressure on the suppliers. Late ships and global shortages are a major contributing factor to the issues. I am sorry if you have had to wait longer than you should have - Stuart.
Nitrogen (Urea & Ammonium Nitrate)
Global nitrogen market remains very tight; urea prices at multi‑year highs due to Middle East disruption.
Strait of Hormuz closure and regional production cuts reshaping global trade flows and tightening supply.
Gas market volatility (Iran/Qatar strikes, reduced Algerian output) increasing production costs.
Strong European spring demand and final UK vessels arriving this week tightening near‑term availability.
Nitrates also firm: limited imported AN, CF briefly offered Nitram then withdrew.
Russia suspending AN exports adds further global constraint.
Ammonia prices at multi‑year highs, impacting all nitrogen‑based production.
We are expecting firm nitrogen pricing to persist.
Phosphate & Potash
Phosphate markets continues to trade firmly, with limited availability and tightening raw material supply.
UK phosphate availability remains tight; potash more stable but still firmly priced.
Logistics and haulage pressure increasing as Easter and peak spring demand approach.
Feed and Livestock
Game feed update
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, ForFarmers are the Group’s preferred supplier for this season’s game feed. At the time of going to press in March, they were in the process of setting up a dedicated telephone line specifically for game feed. This has now been done and should you wish to place an order, the dedicated telephone number for game feed is 0330 678 1083. If you require any further information or advice, please contact either Jamie Horner 07341 883162 or Lauren Appleby 07387 526426.
Forage & Harvest
Prices have now been received from all the Group’s suppliers for all forage and harvest products and there are some significant savings to be made, especially on silage sheets. In order to take advantage of these savings, please contact the office with your requirements. Two issues to note is that firstly at the time of going to press, Wynnstay currently do not have stock of 750green Silotite bale wrap (or very limited stock), but that may change during the season and secondly on the advice of all suppliers who submitted prices, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, prices may well fluctuate with very little notice, so the advice is to place your order as soon as possible, in order to take advantage of the current prices, as in all likelihood and unless the situation changes, prices will unfortunately increase.
GLW surcharge
Again, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the rise in oil prices, unfortunately GLW, the Group’s preferred compound feed suppliers has had to implement a £3/T surcharge on all products they deliver, which came into effect from Monday 16th March. This, they say is regrettable but in light of the current geopolitical situation, was inevitable. They will review the situation on a fortnightly basis and when and for want of a better expression, ‘normal service resumes’, hopefully they will be in a position to withdraw the surcharge. They have made it very clear that the standard and quality of service will not be affected in any way and appreciate the continued support members give to GLW.
Summer molasses
The winter prices for molasses comes to an end at the end of this month. A tender invitation has been sent to suppliers but currently no prices have been received for the summer period, May to September so it’s difficult to gauge which way prices will go, but if you’re in the position to fill your tank prior to the 1st May to take advantage of any potential savings, it might be worth considering.
And finally, totally irrelevant but quite interesting facts of the month…….
There’s as much iron in 16 pints of Guinness as there is in one pint of orange juice and each of an octopus’s 1,600 suckers has 10,000 taste receptors.
Joe Cobb, Feed & Livestock Manager, 01865 393 139
Britains got Talent!
Some of you may have spotted James Florey and other local farmers singing on Britains Got Talent at the weekend in the Farmers Choir.
The choir who originally formed to sing in an advert for Jeremey Clarkson’s Hawkstone beer.
Proving that community is everything, The Hawkstone Farmers Choir performed an emotional rendition of Elbow's 'One Day Like This' – and won themselves Amanda Holden's Golden Buzzer
Grain Market Report from Cefetra
“Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East have sent ripples in all directions across the globe over the past few weeks. Brent Crude shot up ~60% in the first week of the conflict, before giving back ~80% of its gains in WC/9th March on the back of a tweet from Trump stating that the war is nearly won. The US Navy had also managed to escort an oil vessel through the Strait of Hormuz, which would have had an influence on the sell off. Since then, various vessels have been hit in the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict area continues to spread, causing continued uncertainty and volatility. Oil has firmed back up to ~$109/barrel but remains below the highs of ~$120 that we saw on Monday 9th March.
How has this affected grain markets?… The main driver for the move up in grains and oilseeds, has been oil. Therefore, grains and oilseeds have also seen big sell offs on the days that oil has dropped significantly. Funds have been very short wheat for a long time due to the bearish fundamentals and outlook for grains around the globe. This always leaves a small window for upward volatility if they decide to close (buy back) their positions over a very short period, but over the past 12 months, nothing has spooked them into doing this until now. We have now finally seen a catalyst to encourage them to close their positions and have therefore seen a rally in grains on the back of fund buying (a short covering rally).
With regards to current market fundamentals, nothing has really changed. There is still the potential of a record wheat carry out in Europe and as of yet, there are no major weather issues around the globe to note. Although Europe had a delayed start to the season in terms of fertilising and drilling, French winter crop conditions are considerably better than last year thanks to an excellent autumn, which is mirrored in the UK. French spring barley drilling pace has also ramped up in the past couple of weeks, and they are now in line with last year. The UK may need to export wheat at some point next season (depending on yield), into what it is shaping up to be a flooded market unless a big weather event develops somewhere between now and harvest. High fertiliser prices may affect planting decisions around the world for H27, certainly in areas like the US. It’s estimated that around 1MT of Urea production is lost per week whilst this conflict rumbles on in the Middle East, so fertiliser prices are unlikely to drop as quickly as we would all like them to if there is a ceasefire, as it will take a while to re-build stocks. All eyes are on the next Indian tender as well as global planting intensions if fertiliser prices increase/remain high going forward.
What happens now?... Funds have bought back their wheat shorts and have started building a long position. An interesting switch given that the bearish fundamentals (stocks, carry over etc) that lead them to go short in the first place are unchanged. If oil has another surge higher due to further escalations, then perhaps the grain and oilseed markets go another leg higher. However, if Donald Trump writes a slightly positive tweet about how well it’s going, we can expect markets to do the opposite! We will certainly see continued volatility whilst this conflict resumes, but a selloff in oil and therefore grains and oilseeds markets are likely IF and WHEN there is ceasefire/end to this war.”
Josef Grinczer
Senior Farm Grain Buyer & Committed Grains Assistant Manager
