We've finally started lifting sugar beet today. British Sugar would probably have liked us to start last week so we were ready to deliver when the Cantley factory opened on Monday. But the land was too hard and dry and in any case we hoped for a few more days of growth to increase yields.
The half inch of showery rain we've had since has at least softened the top few inches of soil and the roots are lifting easier than they would have last week. But yields look as disappointing as we expected them to be. I'm guessing because nothing has gone off to the factory yet but I would doubt that we are lifting more than 20t/ac (50t/ha).
Not that this is a surprise given the way crops have looked all summer. But it's a long way short of the 70t/ha that British Sugar itself says is necesarry for viability. Later lifted crops may be a bit better as they continue to put on weight through the autumn but it's already clear that we'll make a substantial loss on beet this year.
Somehow, if British Sugar wants to secure supplies beyond next year, they will have to find some more money for beet. If they don't a lot of previously committed growers looking at the comparitive profitabilty of other crops are likely to change to oil seed rape instead.
Comments (1)
You're not alone David, as I'm sure you are aware. Spoke to Ross Haddow yesterday, who suggested he had heard of yields (not on his farm!) ranging from 15t/ha (!) to 68-69t/ha so far.
The other guys I spoke to, whi had started suggested yields similar to yours. Not good, although sugars at least seem to be OK at 17.5%.
Plenty of other growers can't have started yet either - British Sugar said campaign start was "shaky", and John Barrett in our new Barometer farmer blog (http://www.fwi.co.uk/Community/blogs/arablebarometer/archive/2007/10/01/wet-in-france-too.aspx) reports sending his beet to Bury St Edmunds rather than usual factory Cantley because British Sugar was struggling with supply.
Posted by Mike Abram | October 2, 2007 10:27 AM
Posted on October 2, 2007 10:27