New variety assessment tables are now available to support growers considering alternative spring and autumn break crop options.
The tables, launched by Premium Crops, are available for HEAR (high erucic acid rapeseed) and HOLL (high oleic low linoleic) oilseed rape plus winter and spring linseed. The company has also released new spring and winter grower contracts.
Cross-comparison
Drilling into the tables, key varieties in the Premium Crops portfolio are represented alongside commercial controls to enable growers to cross-compare data with the new AHDB Recommended and Descriptive Lists.
Nigel Padbury of Premium Crops says with farmers dealing with the ongoing impact of climate change and the reductions in subsidies, every penny counts. “Introducing alternative crops into the rotation can help with this while also benefiting soil health. Many alternative crops come with a premium selling price, so there’s a benefit to the bottom line as well as the land that our customers are farming.”
Trial sites
He believes the firm’s network of ‘alternative crop’ trial sites around the country is unique among speciality arable suppliers. “In addition to yield, data is collected on a range of important crop characteristics such as maturity, height, vigour and grain quality.
“We’ve had some incredible results from our trials and by enabling farmers to match variety characteristics to their particular farm conditions, the data means growers can optimise the returns they achieve from the contracts offered by Premium Crops.”
The variety assessment tables can be accessed and downloaded from: www.premiumcrops.com/variety-trials.
