BRITAIN‘S BIGGEST seed supplier is giving growers the chance to win a tonne of a new wheat variety at Cereals.

Dalgety, part of the Masstock Group, is urging growers to come on to the stand to discuss new wheat and oilseed varieties with experts and how to use them to maximise gross margin.

Istabraq, Nijinsky, Cordiale, Dickson, Gladiator and Caracas are six new varieties the company has picked out.

Visitors to the stand will get the chance to give one of the wheats a try for free in its prize draw to win a tonne of Sibutol-dressed seed.

“Cordiale is one variety that holds a lot of promise for UK growers,” noted Mike Jeffes, who has seen how it performs in trials at Dalgety‘s Throws Farm.

“It‘s one of the earliest maturing varieties after Soissons and is a good second wheat, making it an ideal entry for oilseed rape for those dropping barley from the rotation.

“With a bombproof Hagberg and specific weight, it‘s a really tidy group 2 variety,” he added.

Group 3 varieties to keep an eye on are Nijinsky – a “tidied-up Claire” with stiffer straw and better disease resistance – and Dickson which is a good quality, high yielder.

“Istabraq is the highest-yielding group 4, and a good replacement for Deben while Gladiator sorts out many of the traditional group 4 problems and is a good choice for heavy land,” said Mr Jeffes.

For oilseed growers, Caracas “does everything Canberra does”, but with 3-4% higher yield and lower biomass, making it easier to harvest, noted Mr Jeffes.

Business consultants from parent company Masstock will also be on hand at the Cereals stand for those who want to talk through the implications of the new Single Farm Payment.

Dalgety Masstock stand: 964