Having been a dedicated sugar beet grower for most of my life I do not consider myself much of an expert on oil seed rape. Moreover the problems we had keeping pigeons off the crops last winter (not always successfully) persuaded me that yields might be disappointing and income below budget.
Well, we managed to get about half our acreage combined by last evening, when we ran out of fit crops just before it rained, and I am agreeably surprised at the results. According to the yield monitor on the combine most of what we have done so far, all of the variety Astrid and all under 9% moisture, has yielded between five and six tonnes per hectare.
I gather from other FW correspondents that this is quite respectable. Maybe its because we have grown it on land that has not been cropped with rape for many years. Certainly it indicates how hardy the crop is despite sustained predator attack. Like I said, we still have half the crop to harvest. But if it does as well as what we've done so far I shall be satisfied - particularly as we sold most of it forward before the price dropped.
It also hardens my feelings towards growing many sugar beet next year at prices currently on the table. Good luck to the NFU in the re-opened negotiations. But I shall not hesitate to drill more rape in a few weeks time if a significant improvement in the British Sugar offer is not achieved.