Is there any skill in growing an economically viable crop of OSR?

DrWazzock · Aug 8, 2020

We didn’t start growing winter crops here until the mid 1980’s when we had a series of very wet springs. Looking back, that’s when we bought the bigger sprayer and from that time the amount of spraying that was required just ramped up and up. Before that time we dragged the stubbles in the autumn to purge them of weeds and ploughed before winter. Drilled everything in the spring. Never had a difficult weed problem. Cranesbill came in with set aside . Sprayed it off with glyphosate but it never quite killed it leaving it to carry on and seed over summer. It flourished in early drilled OSR as well. Very difficult to kill in the beet and more so now desmedipham gone.
If the government doesn’t reverse its stance then we are at a major turning point in UK Ag.

Hampton · Aug 8, 2020

DrWazzock said:
We didn’t start growing winter crops here until the mid 1980’s when we had a series of very wet springs. Looking back, that’s when we bought the bigger sprayer and from that time the amount of spraying that was required just ramped up and up. Before that time we dragged the stubbles in the autumn to purge them of weeds and ploughed before winter. Drilled everything in the spring. Never had a difficult weed problem. Cranesbill came in with set aside . Sprayed it off with glyphosate but it never quite killed it leaving it to carry on and seed over summer. It flourished in early drilled OSR as well. Very difficult to kill in the beet and more so now desmedipham gone.
If the government doesn’t reverse its stance then we are at a major turning point in UK Ag.

Cranesbill exploded as a problem after IPU was banned. Can’t even remember if it was on the label, because we didn’t even register it as a difficult weed. Once IPU went, we all started talking about it.

ollie989898 · Aug 8, 2020

I reckon a fair few weed issues stem from old fashioned setaside myself... it was common to see fields laid up but growing a lot of greenery at some times of year. Weeds merrily flowering for months on end etc.

teslacoils · Aug 8, 2020

Cranesbill just seems to laugh at chems. Like rosebay willow herb

teslacoils · Aug 8, 2020

We would be forced down autumn Atlantis and lots of roguing. And oats.

ollie989898 · Aug 8, 2020

teslacoils said:
Cranesbill just seems to laugh at chems. Like rosebay willow herb

glyphosate and 2,4D.

teslacoils · Aug 8, 2020

In crop!

richard hammond · Aug 8, 2020

ajd132 said:
we will make a decent margin on our rape this year, hence why i am rolling the dice again

ajd132 said:
You haven’t

I do apologize, but I have always talked about COP on all crop production issues!

ajd132 · Aug 8, 2020

richard hammond said:
I do apologize, but I have always talked about COP on all crop production issues!

You didn’t on this thread you just said it was too much to make money. We like figures!

ajd132 · Aug 8, 2020

so far so good, No sign of beetles yet

richard hammond · Aug 8, 2020

ajd132 said:
You didn’t on this thread you just said it was too much to make money. We like figures!

Seed =FFS, No Weed control - until we had a crop!, Spring Weed Control- £40/ha, no fungicide, so total spend should not exceded = £60/ha. +variable machinery costs+Fix costs= £447.78/ha therefore the total costs per hectare grown cheaply is = £504.78/ha or £204.28/acre. Given a Yield this year of 2.5 t/ha At Circa= £320/tonne the G M would be= £295.22/ha which looks ok until you take into account Bank charges, finance charges, drawings, re-investment , there will not be a lot left. Also that is assuming you ARE LUCKY!! and have a crop you take to harvest, which most will not!!

richard hammond · Aug 8, 2020

ajd132 said:
View attachment 899924
so far so good, No sign of beetles yet

Good Luck!! there is a long way to go, lets talk in 7 months!!

ajd132 · Aug 8, 2020

richard hammond said:
Seed =FFS, No Weed control - until we had a crop!, Spring Weed Control- £40/ha, no fungicide, so total spend should not exceded = £60/ha. +variable machinery costs+Fix costs= £447.78/ha therefore the total costs per hectare grown cheaply is = £504.78/ha or £204.28/acre. Given a Yield this year of 2.5 t/ha At Circa= £320/tonne the G M would be= £295.22/ha which looks ok until you take into account Bank charges, finance charges, drawings, re-investment , there will not be a lot left. Also that is assuming you ARE LUCKY!! and have a crop you take to harvest, which most will not!!

The fixed costs are the problem Not the crop if that’s what the overheads are BEFOR drawings, bank charges etc

willy · Aug 8, 2020

Well I have drilled 120 ha of osr, conditions seem perfect, warm soil in great order and hen muck or sewage sludge applied. Drilled with a Claydon and stuff drilled 3 days ago has a 1 inch shoot. Rain is forecast next week. So time will tell.

but after cutting some winter beans last week, I reckon osr still has a place as longas conditions suit and I keep spend under control. CSFB or not I rekindle there’s still a gross margin to be had, we just need to adapt.

DanniAgro · Aug 8, 2020

ajd132 said:
View attachment 899924
so far so good, No sign of beetles yet

You've probably got away with it, as the beetle would surely have made holes in the cotyledon leaves by now if they were about.

Hampton · Aug 9, 2020

DanniAgro said:
You've probably got away with it, as the beetle would surely have made holes in the cotyledon leaves by now if they were about.

I thought that last season!

Ugo79 · Aug 9, 2020

DanniAgro said:
You've probably got away with it, as the beetle would surely have made holes in the cotyledon leaves by now if they were about.

Google ‘Aestivation’

farenheit · Aug 9, 2020

DanniAgro said:
You've probably got away with it, as the beetle would surely have made holes in the cotyledon leaves by now if they were about.

Comment saved

DanniAgro · Aug 9, 2020

Hampton said:
I thought that last season!

All I know is that the beetles were into my plants the instant they emerged for the last two years, and any that got beyond the cotyledon stage grew away - unfortunately that wasn't enough to make a viable crop. Well before the stage your plants are shown at, mine were already full of holes and had lost significant amount of cotyledon.

richard hammond · Aug 9, 2020

ajd132 said:
The fixed costs are the problem Not the crop if that’s what the overheads are BEFOR drawings, bank charges etc

I do appreciate fixed costs are most farmers problem but please note that figure is not just fixed costs it is also those other amounts of money people forget to find a place for in the reality accounts!! Do please also take into account mosts growers do not take a crop of OSR to harvest so there is also the re-establishment costs of the second crop(variable machinery costs etc)

Is there any skill in growing an economically viable crop of OSR?

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

Share this page