Farmers urged to exploit break crop potential of soya
Farmers urged to exploit break crop potential of soya
SOYA offers potential as an additional break crop for Yorks farmers, Simon Broddle of the Soya Association, told a seminar at the Great Yorkshire Show last week.
He suggested that an average yield of 2.5t/ha (1t/acre) worth £200/t, plus area aid payment, made soya competitive with other break crops. But he said it was likely to be 15 years before the potential area of soya is reached in this country.
He also stressed the need to steer away from the use of genetically modified soya because of consumer problem in this country. Consumer confidence had to be restored and that meant avoiding GM crops. UK traceability would be important in this respect.
Soya was on view for the first time at the show.
Mr Broddle suggested initially that the area devoted to soya on any one farm should be limited to 1% of total farm area. "It is still a new crop which needs more breeding and more work," he said. *