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Know How / Market opportunities

In a competitive market for arable crops, keep on top of where the market opportunities lie. Find out which grain and oilseed rape contracts offer a premium, how future changes to subsidies may affect grain markets and how other farmers have switched varieties to find new markets.

Advice and tips

BARLEY

Major maltster picks top spring malting barley for Scotland

The spring malting barley variety Diablo could become the number one variety in Scotland in the next two to three years after an initial good performance on-farm and through the…

CROP SELECTION

Why arable farmers should consider growing rye for pig feed

Cheaper to grow than a second wheat or winter barley and with high yields, hybrid rye offers a better margin and can help in the battle against grass weeds. In…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why hemp is an attractive alternative crop to OSR

Hemp is set to become a viable and attractive break crop alternative to oilseed rape, as farmers are being sought to supply the growing UK market next season. Compared with…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

New varieties and prices spark biscuit wheat revival

Soft-milling biscuit-making wheats are experiencing a revival led by better price premiums and varieties, and could see a further increase in area this autumn. For wheat growers struggling to meet…

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Case studies

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Spelt and rye earn premium spot in Berks organic rotation

Wasing Farm in Berkshire took the bold step into organic farming and is now home to a niche rotation growing spelt, spring rye and oats for the premium milling market.…

PULSES

Peas increase wheat yields and lengthen OSR rotation

After a 40-year break, Norfolk farmer Chris Eglington reintroduced peas to the farm in a bid to widen his oilseed rape rotation and promote yields of following winter wheats. The…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why forage peas earned a place in Norfolk grower's rotation

Forage peas are filling a short gap between carrots and milling wheat in the rotation on one Norfolk farm, tapping into a growing market for livestock feed in an area…

WHEAT

Wheat for Warburtons gives Yorkshire grower low-carbon option

North Yorkshire grower Richard Murray Wells is switching to grow winter wheat for Britain’s biggest bread brand, Warburtons, with the aim of producing low-carbon milling grain for a well-established market…

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Insights

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why OSR growers are enthusiastic in a high-cost season

Optimism surrounding oilseed rape for harvest 2023 continues, despite the high-cost climate, with many growers intending to either return to the break crop or increase their area, a study by…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

How new oat variety offers growers spring milling option

The spring oat variety Isabel, from KWS, joined the ADHB Recommended List in 2020, at a time when there was a great deal of interest in the spring oat crop,…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

How the different spring crop gross margins compare for 2022

Spring sowings are likely to be down this year, due to the favourable autumn drilling conditions. But there will still be plenty of fields going under the drill – and…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Expert pointers on which spring cereal crop to grow in 2022

Spring crops are a key part of sustainable arable rotations, especially for growers with bad blackgrass situations, but weighing up their pros and cons to select which one to grow…

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News

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Oat growers to gain from opening of new processing plant

Europe’s newest and most efficient oat processing plant is set to open in Northamptonshire next year, creating a new outlet for oat growers to feed a rapidly expanding market. The…

BARLEY

Major maltster sees potential in new spring barley variety

Major malting group Simpsons Malt sees good potential for new spring barley variety Firefoxx to do well in Scotland, with one Perthshire grower set to put all his spring barley…

ARABLE

Grower plans cabbage protein venture to compete with soya

A Lincolnshire vegetable grower has launched plans for a £20m processing factory that will produce plant-based protein from cabbages. Naylor Farms, near Spalding, is one of Europe’s largest coleslaw cabbage…

PULSES

Pulses good option for growers as fertiliser prices rocket

The pea and bean area could rise this season due to the sharp jump in nitrogen fertiliser prices and strong demand for these pulse crops in domestic and export markets.…

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Video

ARABLE

Video: How to grow a cereal crop for seed

Cereal growers with clean weed-free ground could earn themselves a significant premium over the price of feed wheat and barley by growing crops for seed production. Prices of 10-12% over…

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