West midlands
Philip Watkins, Herefordshire grower/contractor
“As a grower, I accept that the NFU has probably got the best deal it could under the circumstances. As a contractor, I feel I have been hung out to dry. The extra £4/t to get the beet to Bury St Edmunds doesn’t stack up and most of my clients will quit. At least my three harvesters are older machines and not worth as much as new kit.”

Eastern counties
John Barrett, Norfolk, growing 4000t
“We’re going to carry on growing beet, but we will be moving it around much more, growing it on more marginal land that has never had a crop of beet before. The new IPA gives us much more flexibility to do this. As for taking on extra tonnage from York or Allscott, we’re certainly not going to chase it. If British Sugar wants us to grow the beet, it will have to provide the contract.”