Spring wheat set to bounce back
28 January 2000
Spring wheat set to bounce back
SPRING wheat, often viewed as the poor relation to other combinable options, could bounce back this spring, suggests Nickerson.
Echoing earlier gross margin estimates (Arable, Dec 31) the firm says wheat is now potentially the highest earner for spring sowing.
It has calculated returns from an £80/t crop of bread-making spring wheat to be £100/ha (£40/acre) more than for rape, peas and beans and £50/ha (£20/acre) more than spring barley even if grown for a malting premium of £13/t.
"In most years spring wheat is used mainly to fill in the areas that werent sown to winter wheat the previous autumn," says technical services manager Steve Palmer. "But this year it could replace other spring-sown crops as well."
The companys Imp, with the highest bread-making score of any fully NIAB-recommended variety, could command a premium of £10/t over feed wheat, he adds. *