Wheat has got back into UK farmers' good books, with plantings for next year's harvest estimated to jump by 10% to about 2.0m hectares, and oilseed rape also back in favour.

The forecasts were revealed to Agrimoney.com as Origin Enterprises, the owner of the Masstock agronomy chain, said it was "comfortable" about analysts' expectations for its performance in the year to next July, helping its shares jump 5%.

The extra 200,000 hectares being put into wheat represents a marked reversal from last year, when poor autumn sowing conditions prompted a switch into spring barley, and left wheat plantings at less than 1.8m hectares, their lowest for eight years.

However, it is in line with a European trend which, according to French analysis group Strategie Grains, will see more wheat sown and less barley.

'Fantastic weather'

UK farmers, who have planted an average of 1.90m hectares of wheat over the last decade, have enjoyed better sowing conditions this year, while barley prices have fallen sufficient to prompt the European Union to resume intervention buying.

"There is not point turning to barley in the current market. If you think wheat prices aren't great, barley is even worse."

He added that growers who had been forced last year to plant areas designated for wheat with other crops, such as barley, would be able to benefit from the break by planting a first wheat, which typically gives higher yields than a follow-on wheat sowing.

'Positive platform'

Oilseed rape plantings were poised to jump 37,000 hectares to 629,000 hectares, a figure second only to the record 674,000 hectares sown for the 2007 harvest.

Origin Enterprises said that the forecasts for higher arable plantings provided a "positive platform for the full year performance" of its agronomy business, which also includes Dalgety in Poland.

The Irish-based group added that the recovery in commodity markets, which saw London wheat prices hit their highest for four months last week, had "yet to positively impact farm incomes", noting that its own agribusiness revenues fell by an underlying 17.5% to E340.8m in the August-to-October period.

"Customers are adopting a wait-and-see approach in response to the current challenging environment for farming," Origin Enterprises said.

However, a statement that it was "comfortable with market expectations for the full year" reassured investors, who have pegged in an 8.1% drop to E43.8m in the group's underlying annual earnings.

Origin Enterprises shares closed up 4.8% at E2.20 in Dublin.