FARMER FOCUS: Sugar beet growers need to unite
I wonder if anyone has some statistics to prove my theory that every spring seems to have more windy days than the previous one. It was highly frustrating waiting for appropriate conditions for spraying and spreading, and I put in some late nights after the wind had dropped so I could keep the applications on track.
Fungicides have been kept fairly cheap and sensible in the relatively dry time leading up to and including the T1 application. If the weather changes we can consider a T1.5 if necessary.
The sugar beet went in fairly nicely, and enjoyed a light rain soon after. It seems to be establishing well, and the all-important first two herbicides were done in good time, which should hopefully reduce the overall weed control challenge for the rest of the season.
Yet again, the issue of sugar beet pricing is a major concern for the industry. The pricing mechanism previously agreed seemed sensible at the time – but with rising input costs and the general increase in values of alternative break crops, yet again there is a danger that many of us may consider dropping beet from our rotations.
As I have said before, it can be a marginal crop for me, and I did reduce the area in past years. But it would be a shame to lose more growers and, indeed, it would be good to see the UK sugar industry grow rather than contract.
I hope growers can unite and support the NFU sugar team in achieving a higher price that we can accept, and also allow British Sugar as the processor to go forward.
We have had to be patient and careful with the potato planting, particularly at the Newborough farm, which took a while to dry out. Generally, they have gone in well but a little later than usual, which could impact on yields.
The oilseed crop is very mixed, and a very small area had to be written off for various reasons, but in general it is looking reasonable. And at the Whittlesey farm it looks quite good and is flowering well.
Philip Bradshaw grows cereals, sugar beet and potatoes on 300ha of fenland and other soil types at Flegcroft Farm, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire.
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