How are the beet crops doing.

I have two early drillings with 50,000+ha

One later drilling just stuggling through a thin cap.

Two fields with 40,000HA

One field with 20,000ha to re drill.soils have slumped in the hailstorms,snow,rain,and the frosts havent helped.

It makes be wonder if we would have faired better if we had min tilled this year.

When to re drill as weather still stormy?   JOHN

Ours looks fine - the seeds are still in the boxes. There they will stay until it stops raining. On the other hand, as we are early (mid Sept) lifters, maybe I should just give BS a ring and get them to take the seed back. Not time for much else except a crop of linseed, so I expect I would be better off leaving the loose fallow for some early drilled rape.  

Tesla returning the seed may bring the best margin.As we need 30 ton acre for a small profit.Not much of a profit now even if they pay £24/ton

Its probably to late now to redrill now John. I think if I was you id except it as a bad days work and take what youve got. You never know, a few warm but wet days might loosen the cap enough - unless the seed has rotted of course? How are you counting your seeds/ha?

We drill our beat by the conditions/soil temperatures of the field and not just because somebody tells us they have to go in on the 3rd march for 70tonne/ha.

We usually are early drillers but for the above reasons held off. People were drilling in middle of febuary here and in all fairness there crops are much further behind than ours (whats emerged) that went in on 20th march in the right conditions.

Patched in about 6 acres at worst end of field left the rest as about 40 Chain.

Heard of a big grower pulled out 100 acres on monday then 15mm rain on tuesday the joys of farming!!!!!! JOHN.

Ours still in the box. Should get them in next week.

Beet drilled about 6-8th march look ok,drilled on 9-10th and 16-17th look crap,drilled 1st few days of april look set for high yeilds.Still big storms about just missed a big one on friday.

Soil still cold ,probed a potato on friday only 6 c.

Looking like could be 500-600 ton short this year.On Beet.

B****r this global cooling.!!!!  JOHN.

Drilling beet today! Woohoo!

The crops may be in for this year, but what about next season? British Sugar's offer of £26/t seems to have got a pretty mixed reaction from the people I've spoken to for a recent article (link below)....yes, most would like to see more £££, but others have suggested they can make it pay at £26. The biggest problem seems to be that we don't know for certain what the price will be - it depends on what happens to the £ v euro exchange rate between now and the summer. Interested to hear what you guys think??

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/05/29/110643/beet-price-offer-shrouded-in-uncertainty.html

You wont get £26. Nothing to do with wheat and exchange rate. Entirely to do with haulage. For 2009, we will be subsidising haulage to the tune of £2 a ton, and that is a 35 mile haul, not like taking it from York to Newark. So thats it down to £24/t nett. As I have said, excluding SFP but including rent, it costs about £500 an acre to grow, so at £25 a ton you need 20t/ha to break even. At the BS target of 70t/ha, thats £200 an acre profit pre SFP.

I would expect light land farmers to grow, especially if they havent got irrigtaionfor spuds/roots. For us, its tricky as so much rests on getting it in the ground promptly.

Adding in the cost of a potentially less rewarding wheat crop behind it, there are a lot of downers.

Still, at 70t/ha = roughly £200/ac profit, plus your SFP if you are counting that as farming income it pays well. For anyone routinely getting 50t/ha or lower, get rid. At that beans, peas, linseed, rape, wheat etc all pay better. And you can put your combine cost over those extra acres.

I think it is going to cost an extre 60-70p a ton on our 29mile haul.At todays fuel cost.And another 60p ton to harvest,and about £1.50 on fert,if we did the same as befor.then i gess about "£1.00 for our extre fuel.So £3.70/ton extre costs from the fuel and fert price increases,so thats £22.30/ton,or £669 on 30 ton acre,then we need to think about re drilling as there will come a year when it gos wrong,as it has for some this year.The price needs to be £30/ton to live with the other options,and cover the higher risks of establishing a beet crop.PLEASE DEBATE IF YOU THINK I HAVE IT WRONG.  BS MAY LIKE TO JOIN IN . JOHN.

BS dont care. Its down to if we want to basically subsidise their operation by growing a crop on land that could be growing a more proftable crop. And also if we want to sign a contract now for a crop that will not be harvested for 18 months which they are unwilling to fix a price for - the price quoted most likely will fall.

 They arent stupid - its us!

I  E-MAILED   NFU head office today to ask them to fight for a FUEL escalator for the 2009 contract.COULD you all add some surport please.

We have no idear how much it is going to cost to harvest and transport the crop in winter of 2009.

JOHN.

I will send them a letter, but to be frank I will vote with my feet. Bought quota for almost nothing, and so will rent it all out to some other mug.

Got another letter going in Friday's FW along these lines.