Grow it right and Brigadier serves you well – trader
Grow it right and Brigadier serves you well – trader
DONT dismiss Brigadier winter wheat seed which is currently selling at £20-30/t less than alternatives feed varieties. It yields well when grown with the right management outside yellow rust hot spots and commands a small milling premium, says one southern trader.
As recently as 1996 Brigadier was joint top yielder on the UK Recommended List, notes David Buttle of SCATS. "It has done consistently well over five years. And with Baytan protection for yellow rust farmers can buy it competitively.
"We have seen a knee-jerk reaction into soft feeds. But you must question some of their disease ratings. The south of England could be coated with Consort which thrived in the rain this year. But next year could be dry."
Many growers found Brigadier their highest yielder this harvest, says colleague Paul Taylor. "But they are not growing it again because of the perceived risk. Its not fashionable."