The UK’s first winter-hardy flax seed variety, Jade, has been launched to offer a new option for borage growers looking to diversify, with seed contracts worth up to £1,000/t.

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Premium Crops has launched Jade as the first-ever winter-hardy flax option.

“We’re specifically reaching out to borage growers because they already have the infrastructure in place.

“They also understand speciality crop production, which makes all the difference,” said Nigel Padbury, seeds and marketing manager at Premium Crops.

Flax offers similar agronomic benefits to linseed, making it a straightforward addition to existing rotations.

However, glyphosate cannot be used as a desiccant in flax seed production, which makes mechanical swathing a key advantage, and borage growers are already kitted up for swathing.

Jade can be sown in the autumn, allowing for stronger establishment, better land use and improved workload distribution, especially when compared to other spring varieties which carry risks with late drilling and poor establishment.

The winter flax variety is also a strong alternative break crop to traditional crops such as oilseed rape, as it has higher pest resistance, which lowers input costs.

Contracts for autumn-sown crops are now open, with establishment required by late September to early October, so interested growers are encouraged to get in touch with Premium Crops soon.

“Given the high contract values and equipment compatibility, this represents an ideal moment for growers to expand into a high-value break crop,” said Nigel.