Industry Intelligence

Each month, we update you on fuel prices which relate to our industry in order to help you benchmark and forecast your costs. This information is part of our endeavour to ensure we support you, our members, in the effective day-to-day running of your rural businesses.

Join us at the Ceres AgriStrategy Conference on Thursday 4th December. Are you ready to turn this year’s challenges into next season’s strategies? Hosted by Ceres Research and Ceres Rural, this one-day conference is your opportunity to: – Reflect on the 2025 harvest with expert insights – Explore sustainable rotations and input efficiency – Discover […]

This month's digest includes:
• Updates on Straw Prices, APR & BPR, and the CSHT scheme
• Industry news covering herbicide resistance tests, ongoing ADOPT funding, ammunition & abstraction bans
• Latest science on soil organic carbon increases from SLM, non-invasive detection of drought stress in potatoes, catch crop diversity importance for carbon stocks and cover crop decision support tool insights
• Key reports on Sustainable Farming Scheme for Wales and Farming Profitability Review
• Ceres Research Updates - including July's Agronomy Club recording, Fields of the Future podcast episode and the Farming Update Plus

One of the driest seasons on record and one of the earliest harvests in 19 years...What does this mean for UK growing cycles? Drought & excessive heat, what's the greatest threat to agriculture? Can the data help us to predict future yields? All of these questions have been discussed in our latest farming update.

Welcome to the Ceres Rural Farming Update, a publication that provides independent insights on agricultural issues, from policy and grant funding, to administrative updates and key market information. Read the update here. For a printer-friendly version, click here. Please consider the environment before printing this publication. Looking for deeper insights and enhanced reporting? Become a Ceres […]

Crops are looking shorter than before this harvest season, combine this with high demand from livestock farmers, and straw prices are likely to be high. This article provides the latest insight on straw prices we've been seeing across the country to date in 2025.

As harvest continues under warming conditions, safeguarding grain quality becomes increasingly urgent. Timely cooling and moisture control are essential to minimise losses and maintain marketability throughout storage. Read this article for cooling and moisture control recommendations.

Timely cultivation is key to managing weed pressure and improving crop establishment, especially in dry soils. Shallow cultivation can help retain moisture, but overworking the soil risks damaging structure. Experience and field-specific decisions are essential for success. With the dry soils this year, read on to hear more about cultivations this season.

As harvest progresses under warm and dry conditions, straw management is becoming a critical consideration for growers. With shorter crops and reduced straw volumes, nutrient dynamics, particularly potassium (K) behaviour, are shifting in response to the weather. Read more to find out about the potential offtake of potassium this year under dry conditions, the research behind the uptake of potassium in straw, the pros and cons of baling straw and our practical recommendations.