British Sugar is admitting it has been a bit of a shaky start to the lifting campaign this year. Probably not surprisingly growers, particularly in areas where the rain was excessive to say the least and affected growth, are trying to wait to harvest to add a few precious tonnes / ha to yield.

Where growers have started, such as FW eastern barometer John Barrett and David Richardson they are reporting lower yields than average. In other areas - come on down some parts of Suffolk and Essex - yields appear to have held up reasonably well, and at least sugars are OK (17.5%), which might mitigate against some yield loss.

So I guess a question many growers are asking, with disappointing yields, most other crop prices rising while beet prices fall, is it worth persevering with beet? 

This time 2010 might be my first! Prices look like crap compared to wheat but, according to my family, it has always paid. Also seems like BS are giving quota away. Low N break crop and great chance to really clean up the weeds. Can I tractor it in myself? Not sure yet, but who knows.

Beet, some Avalon wheat, marrowfat peas! Looks like my little farm might be going back to the 1980's. If only linseed was a goer too.

Is it best to look a bit long-term, as beet prices must go up or cominables must fall? Or say bugger it, keep continuous wheat, sell some straw too (!) and take the cash while the goings good?

After the shaky start things got marginally better for the 2007/08 campaign - BS say adjusted yields are close to the five-year average of 57t/ha. Not bad considering the spring drought(?) and wash-out summer! There's a fair range in yields though - anything from 25 to 85t/ha!! What could have been achieved if we'd had a 'normal' year?

 As Mike pointed out back at the start of the campaign, sugar's were good and didn't fall off towards the end - season average likely to be around 18% (0.5% up on average).

Unsurprisingly, BS are optimistic growers will stick with beet for 08/09, although after this year's problems and wheat around the £200/t mark/ oilseed rape over £300, how many share the same view??  

Campaign update article here: http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/01/17/109041/sugar-contents-are-some-consolation-for-difficult-beet-season.html

Paul (FW arable)

If you want a rotation that doesnt rely on one or two types of spray, you have to give it a go. As quota is so easy to get hold of or get rid of, and after some 'chats' it seems the quota system is on the way out in a few years. Then it comes down to economics and location.

Once beet is a proper commodity crop, they will have to pay a competitive price to keep the factories full, so they will go out and tempt the large or closeby grower, and keep moving further away or onto more challenging land or offering a higher price until they have enough.

It is difficult to argue against the fact it is a low nitrogen input crop that is fairly easy to rid of weeds, and a true break crop, unlike OSR. We are on heavy land, and at the worst we can always follow beet with another break crop - beans and linseed are also profitable at todays prices and double breaks are looking like the way forward.

I will gaze into my crystal ball to predict that 2015 will see increased areas of beet (which will be the second GM crop after rape or maize), followed by direct drill winter beans (once headlands subsoiled) to leave a lovely clean field for wheat (all milling varieties as domestic meat production declines and pulses used for protein in diets. Farmers will have grouped together into grower/lifter/haulier co-ops which will have bought the factories and converted them all for fuel.

Farmers at the moment do not fancy getting rid of what theyve always known as being the best paying crop in the industry. Its all about change and for the older generations they dont like to put all there eggs in one basket unlike some of the younger farmers that tend to follow the pounds without any long term thought. I think the biggest concern is the recent hike in fuel,fertiliser and sprays. Yes I know we should be grateful of the extra £4.00/tonne but how fars this gonna go when the extra large fertiliser bills start rolling. I personally think that the suppliers are jumping on rising comodity price band wagon- they see prices have doubled so the want a piece of the pie. BUT when the beet price are down where they are and the inputs are up where they are in line with every other crop somethings gotta give. It seems to me you need a cheaper tarif for inputs producing cheap sugarbeet.

Generally I think most farmers including myself will give it a couple of years to see how the market swing. I do think we must be careful with the costings as it is very easy to have another crop subsadising not so good earners. With osr prices where they are this is the better crop at the moment especially as you can establish wheat early in nice conditions where you know you can get full potential of the crop.

AFAIK, beet has always 'paid' and either the beet price will rise, or combinables will fall.

You need a break crop one way or another - fair dos if you are on potato land, but if you are heavy land your options are getting very seriously squeezed.

Very interesting to hear what you are saying as we find heavy land sugarbeet are usually our worst. We will split fields with light land one side for the beet and put osr the heavy side just to advoid growing beet on heavy land. Occasionly we will get fields with five or six acres with clay in the corners which we will crop with beet anyway but the beet dont go down or spread-they tend to grow out of the ground. Other reason we dont put beet on heavy land is we are working on the land at the worst possible time trying to get them out of the ground so we find the lighter soils better for this crop.

I would have said osr or beans are a safer bet on heavy land. Having said that you may define heavy land different to me as we are in different areas.

I don`t see why the beet price will rise. It seems that everyone but me was prepared to stick with the crop at £19/t. BS now know what your minimum price is and only have to react to movements in competing break crop prices, hence the extra £4 now offered. Given the increase in production costs through fuel and fertilizer will you be so much better off ? 2006/7 harvest was my last and the crop was replaced with more rape and sp barley, both of which wildly exceeded expectations. No, beet has gone for good on my unirrigated dry sand.

I too sold my quota in 2006. It wasn't just the sugar beet price falls - at a time when there were plenty of indicators that the world price of grains would increase - that convinced me to get out.

It was the attitude of British Sugar and its parent compant ABF towards the future of sugar beet production in this country, and their investments in sugar production in Africa and the Far east that really worried me.

I don't believe that BS and ABF is truely committed to a viable future for UK sugar production or UK sugar producers 

And I don't believe that the NFU sugar committee and its officers, the sole grower representative acknowledged by BS, has the ability or stomach to defend growers interests.

And with wheat and OSR at current prices I'm very glad I'm not sending beet and losing money on every tonne leaving the farm

With increased fertiliser and harvesting fuel costs, we cannot make money in beet anymore and unless BS offer more before August 15, we will not be growing. We grew more spring barley and spring beans this year and we would replace beet with spring beans and some grass for haylage

Are you going to Oliver Walston's meeting recoveryman?

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/10/111169/sugar-beet-growers-to-challenge-british-sugar-on-price.html

i phoned some folk today seems like the news has got around.  JOHN.

I'll be going along, so if anyone who can't make it has got any questions - let me know before Friday and I'll raise them at the meeting (anonymously if you want!). Either post them up here, or email me paul.spackman@rbi.co.uk

Comments heard today,Grow half tonnage if price stays the same.  Not at under £30. Returned contract(mainly elderly growers)  JOHN.

Well, there was a pretty good turnout at the meeting today - almost 300 growers, representing about 900,000t of quota! Everyone who got up to speak made very good points...and fingers crossed, it might just do some good. Helen Kirkman from the NFU stood up at the end and said that following the meeting, the NFU was going to try and reopen price negotiations with BS - see article:

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/18/111256/nfu-plans-to-reopen-sugar-beet-price-negotiations.html

I think that's what they call 'people power'!  Let's hope BS listen...

Paul 

Helen Kirkham is still there? I thought she would have been replaced ages ago.

If there was one final issue that convinced me that giving up my beet quota was the best course of action for my farm it was listening to Helen Kirkham defending BS against the genuine concern of the beet growers that the NFU is charged with representing.

Over the past years she has overseen the collapse in farmgate prices, the closure of factories, and the huge losses endured by growers and contractors in Yorkshire and Shropshire - all in the name of 'parnership'. And how have BS repaid her for her loyalty? They didn't bother to tell her or her boss about the Allscott and York closures until the morning of the press conference, whereas others, including myself, got phone calls the night before.

If she and the NFU get control of this initiative then God help you all..............

We must thank OLIVER WALSTON for sticking his head up and getting the ball rolling on the beet PRICE/contract.

We farmers, growers or not, need this large customer to stay in busness in the UK,but not at any price,we MUST UNITE to get a far deal.

There is money enougth in the beet to keep growers who produce over 65ton/ha in the job.

COME ON BS LETS SEE A FARE DEAL.

You have more to lose than us.

900,000 ton of support this morning.THANKS TO ALL WHO TURNED OUT.

Paul

As those who attended the meeting will testify what Helen actually said quite aggressively and passionately was that she felt empowered by the strength of feeling from the farmers yesterday and when addressing the meeting she said she WOULD reopen negotiations not just TRY!!  There was no mention of the fact that she didn't think she would get anywhere for 2009.

This meeting was organised by growers for growers (not the NFU) and should be reported by the FW on the basis of what was said openly by the Growers at the meeting - not what Helen said to you privately after the meeting.

The people who attended the meeting agreed to forward their contracts to the NFU on the basis that they the NFU will NOT submit these to BS until an improvement is obtained on the current price being offered for 2009.

The idea of giving the Contracts to the NFU was to create a mechanism to ensure that the farmers who attended the meeting and other growers who had not attended could STAND TOGETHER and not just disperse and deflate after the meeting and end up achieving nothing. 

By holding a significant number of SIGNED contracts it gives the NFU the bargaining power they need to achieve an effective price negotiation with BS, which they have been unable to do effectively so far. 

After the meeting Helen asked Growers not to send their forms to the NFU until we have been contacted by them.  However quite a number of growers had already left the meeting by that stage.  It is important to get this message across to them.

I think it is also important that each grower sends a letter with their contract to the NFU advising that they do not wish their contract to be forwarded to BS unless and until an offer is received that is an improvement on the current £24/£25 and that the NFU must contact them prior to submitting the form on their behalf.

Beet growers have plenty profitable break crops available now,and have the opportunity to hold out for a fair price.If BS simply cant afford to pay anymore they must come out and say so,and close down their factories.They cant expect growers to work for nothing.Growers cant expect BS to work for nothing.If there isnt enough money in the crop to let growers and processors make a profit,we have to regretfully forget about it and move onto something else.The idea of sending signed contracts in to the NFU looks like a good one.It shows growers are serious and gives the NFU the power they need in negotiations.

Hi all I had a brain storm today.I did e-mail Oliver.I feel the NFU letter should have TWO boxs to fill in.:A: the figure at which you would grow for 2009,and under that amount your contract can be shreaded/returned after AUG 15th. :B: the figure at which you feel is a fair and just reward.

If not some people will feel agreved if a deal was done at say £27 and they had decided to bale out if not £30.

Without that some will call it a day where plans to quit are already in place.

Others may not send forms in for fear that an unsatisfactory deal may be done,that they would be commited to for 2009 crop year 

BS DO NOT NEED TO SEE THESE  FIGURES.

GROWERS UNITED         JOHN.

I agree with this because some people would accept one price whilst others may need or want a higher price. Variables could be linked to whether you grow/harvest/haul the beet youself or whether a contractor does some or all of the jobs for you or the area of beet acreage.

Good idea anyway. What do others think?

I was just discussing this with Paul. It is an interesting dilemma how this is going to work in practice. Say British Sugar agree to £26/t minimum, and growers have not specified a price on their letter to the NFU, does the NFU send all the contracts back because the price is better, even though it is still below what farmers might want? Or does it ballot all sugar beet members / all sugar beet growers / just those who have sent letters back?

Perhaps the only solution is what John proposes above, and that those contracts are only sent back when that price which a grower will commit to is met. But what if that price doesn't deliver the tonnage British Sugar needs, does it then offer another £!/t to get extra tonnage. Will the growers who were committed at the lower price still get a higher price if that happens? Or will BS offer extra tonnage to those growers prepared to grow at a lower price to secure extra tonnage. Will the NFU go back to growers £1/t over the new price and ask them if they want to re-consider?

There's plenty of questions that need answering in the next few weeks I suspect! It's going to be an interesting game of brinkmanship...

ITS GOT TO BE ONE PRICE FOR ALL.

Say mr A puts down £28 or his not growing.

Mr B puts down £30 or his not growing.

Mr C puts down £32 or his out.
British sugar says to NFU if we could get to £28 how much tonnage would we likely get,Lets say 3million ton They could say ok we will shut two factorys and import juice to top up,or they could say ok how about £30 lets say 5million Ok we will run with that and close Cantly.Mr A& Mr B will be growers in 2009.But Mr C is out.

Whot ever price is agreed must be the same for all.

Have BS built a new road through the fens,they must have as my mileage has been reduced from 39miles to 33 miles Has the factory MOVED.

JOHN. 

My milage has been reduced 4 miles. Result is that lorry has now to make most of the journey on unclassified and B class roads, rather than A class and dual carriageway. Contractor will not be happy but I'm not paying any more. Thank god there is someone further down the line I can screw. Thanks BS for nothing.

Phoned NFU re this today.They,BS,are takeing the centre of every field on a contract and averageing the distance to factory.This will change every year,IF grown.

The mind boggals at how much this will cost to implement,per year,to dish out the same pot of money.

IF IT ISNT BROKE SPEND SOME CASH AND GET IT FIXED!!!!!!

JOHN.