Why Scottish growers are turning to winter linseed
Harvesting linseed © GNP What started out as a trial to test the winter hardiness of new winter linseed varieties has ended up being a springboard for the crop’s introduction on Scottish arable farms.
Premium Crops linseed agronomist Hanna Foxall says the Scottish Agronomy trials site was seen as a good location to test winter hardiness.
“Over the past five years, all the winter linseed plots have averaged 2.7t/ha and it has been consistently one of the top-yielding sites.”
See also: Beans can deliver high yields in Scotland, trial shows
She points out that at current contract prices (£500/t and over), this yield level generates attractive gross margins, comparable to an average crop of oilseed rape.
Therefore, winter linseed is seeing quite a bit of interest as Scottish farmers look for alternatives.
Spring barley is having problems with lower malting premiums in an oversupplied market. There is a similar oversupply problem for oats.
On top of this, Hannah says those who grow oilseed rape are having to widen their rotations because of clubroot and light leaf spot issues.
Lower cost
Farmers are also attracted by its lower growing cost, with linseed having half the nitrogen fertiliser requirement of OSR.
The lower fertiliser requirement is especially attractive with the current impact of the Iran war on fertiliser prices.
It is also without the risks of cabbage stem flea beetle and light leaf spot.
Up to now, Scottish growers have had plenty of crop choices, but as some crops face problems, linseed is a feasible alternative.
One such farmer is Iain Grant, who farms 150ha near Elgin in Moray.
“I’d tried rapeseed in the past, with mixed results from wet winters and pigeon grazing, so I wanted to try something new.
“The ability of linseed to cope with a bit more water in winter was attractive,” he says.
In total, Iain planted about 20ha of Attila winter linseed, which achieved last season’s record trial yield of 3t/ha.
“The crop went into winter strong. It proved it can stand a wet winter better than OSR and wasn’t overly bothered by birds.
“It’s not too costly to dry, and some of it didn’t get dried at all.
“It was a full-on drought last year, and you could see stress, but it coped well.”
Agronomist tips on growing winter linseed
Linseed is drilled in September and aim for a seed rate of 31kg/ha into a good quality seed-bed. There are a range of pre-emergence options.
For grassweeds, there is Avadex (tri-allate) along with Emerger (aclonifen).
Callisto (mesotrione) and Katamaran (metazachlor + quinmerac) are two options for broad-leaved weeds.
Post-emergence, Centurion Max (clethodim) is useful on grassweeds and Jubilee (metsulfuron) offers broad spectrum control of broad-leaved weeds.
There is also Eagle (amidosulfuron) for cleavers and Shield (clopyralid) for thistles.
With nutrition, linseed requires 120kg/ha of nitrogen, which is about half what OSR typically receives.
Pests and disease are not a major problem.
Growth regulation and harvest
However, robust growth regulation is key.
The crop sits over winter and when it enters stem extension, growth is then rapid and farmers should look to apply metconazole, which offers some disease protection as well as growth regulation.
This is followed up a few weeks later with Toprex (difenoconazole + paclobutrazol).
This use of growth regulators combined with the shorter (lower biomass), earlier maturing varieties means harvest is much easier than back in the 1980s.
Premium Crops open day
Premium Crops, together with Scottish Agronomy, is inviting farmers to hear about the results from their latest winter linseed field trials at a free event.
Taking place in Glenrothes, Fife, on 29 April 2026, the open day will include talks and presentations from representatives from Scottish Agronomy and Premium Crops and will give delegates the chance to visit trial sites.
There will be a short Q&A with agronomists and growers and lunch will be included.
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