Sugar beet price 2024

B'o'B · Jul 26, 2023

I stopped growing beet in 2013, I occasionally look into these threads to remind myself why I stopped.
There is life after stopping growing beet for farmers, there isn’t life for BS after enough farmers stop growing beet. Their negotiators ignore this to get the beet price a low as possible and it’s worked for BS for decades. But I think they are going to soon be hurting themselves by screwing farmers too hard for too long. Beet is massively more risky to grow now than when I stopped.
If BS come out with a reduced offer with the world sugar market so high I think it would be nothing but an insult. I think they are getting to the point where they have pushed too many farmers beyond the point of caring.

Laggard · Jul 26, 2023

Flat 10 said:
What’s that graphic?

Futures linked sugar beet price for the past year.

robbie · Jul 26, 2023

I really don't get this idea of beet being linked to wheat or anything else. If I go into a builders merchants I can't argue the price I pay for timber but using the justification that bricks or cement or plaster board has come down in price or another way of looking at it is that the price of Beef or lamb or chicken is X so pork needs to be Y they're completely unrelated so why can BS use this mentality for beet??? So what if combinables are down on a year ago, sugar is up and there's a shortage of it so the price goes up simple.

I've said it before NFUs are in a good strong position this year, they just need to grow a set and push hard for us grower's and not worry about upsetting there chums at BS.

Flat 10 · Jul 26, 2023

Daniel said:
Beet price has strengthened over the last month, should put NFU Sugar in a strong position?View attachment 1126140

How soon after you sign a contract can you sell your futures linked tonnage? So if we can chose to commit say 25% or whatever we are allowed can we sell it all on say Sep 1st? Which would be pretty risk free?

The Fenster · Jul 26, 2023

robbie said:
I really don't get this idea of beet being linked to wheat or anything else. If I go into a builders merchants I can't argue the price I pay for timber but using the justification that bricks or cement or plaster board has come down in price or another way of looking at it is that the price of Beef or lamb or chicken is X so pork needs to be Y they're completely unrelated so why can BS use this mentality for beet??? So what if combinables are down on a year ago, sugar is up and there's a shortage of it so the price goes up simple.

I've said it before NFUs are in a good strong position this year, they just need to grow a set and push hard for us grower's and not worry about upsetting there chums at BS.

As is the case most of the time farmers are completely removed from the realities under which most businesses operate. Everyone else in the world seems to alter their prices so that they always at least break even or generally make a profit, even those on the fringes of agriculture, mechanics, haulers, seed potato producers, chemical companies etc. We seem to be told the input prices and the output prices and then have to attempt to make money in the middle, but nobody really cares if we do or don't.
Just out of interest how are those on the NFU sugar board that do the negotiations elected? Is it through voting in by local British sugar growers, or NFU members? Or is there no election at all. Only grown beet a couple of years to excuse my ignorance .

graham mc · Jul 26, 2023

prob spout some poo about being in it for the long term etc as they bend over and take it from bs!!

Flat 10 · Jul 26, 2023

The Fenster said:
As is the case most of the time farmers are completely removed from the realities under which most businesses operate. Everyone else in the world seems to alter their prices so that they always at least break even or generally make a profit, even those on the fringes of agriculture, mechanics, haulers, seed potato producers, chemical companies etc. We seem to be told the input prices and the output prices and then have to attempt to make money in the middle, but nobody really cares if we do or don't.
Just out of interest how are those on the NFU sugar board that do the negotiations elected? Is it through voting in by local British sugar growers, or NFU members? Or is there no election at all. Only grown beet a couple of years to excuse my ignorance .

Elected by growers every 3 years I think.

DrWazzock · Jul 26, 2023

Well, I’ve just harvested 22 tons of OSR off the 20 acres that would been beet. On the face of it that might seem a poor alternative to beet but the OSR was harvested in a day and needs 3 tractor trailers and one lorry to move it. It’ll take me half an hour to load that lorry. Then I can get it in with winter wheat. For the beet I’d be loading 16 lorries on and off all winter. Cleaner loader in and out and shake it all about. And 64, yes 64, tractor trailer loads hauled out the field through winter, then a sh!t crop of spring barley. Now some folk might get off on that kind of thing and I’m sure BS rely on that, but it just doesn’t wash with me any more. How the heck it can be less than £40/ton is beyond me.

Mixedupfarmer · Jul 26, 2023

alomy75 said:
37.50 seems to be a minimum being communicated to some growers who are asking similar questions. Not to me mind I was quite surprised at that but I’ve heard it from a couple of places now

Me too, second hand

Mixedupfarmer · Jul 26, 2023

robbie said:
I really don't get this idea of beet being linked to wheat or anything else. If I go into a builders merchants I can't argue the price I pay for timber but using the justification that bricks or cement or plaster board has come down in price or another way of looking at it is that the price of Beef or lamb or chicken is X so pork needs to be Y they're completely unrelated so why can BS use this mentality for beet??? So what if combinables are down on a year ago, sugar is up and there's a shortage of it so the price goes up simple.

I've said it before NFUs are in a good strong position this year, they just need to grow a set and push hard for us grower's and not worry about upsetting there chums at BS.

Combinable crops could be a lot more money by the time next harvest arrives. NFU Sugar hopefully will dig their heals in for at least the same as last year, as the market is up, and if no one grows it , they would have to buy in dear sugar to fill contracts again!

Mixedupfarmer · Jul 26, 2023

Flat 10 said:
Elected by growers every 3 years I think.

Yes, I thinks so, then Mr Sly sorts the negotiations out!

Laminated · Jul 26, 2023

Well. There definitely too late here. 20ha of Osr is drilled and 1st true leaf is coming out. And barley seed has been dressed for the 20ha of 2nd wheat which could have been beet

Daniel · Aug 28, 2023

Still no mention of next years contract? Free buy price is still strong and rising.

Flat 10 · Aug 28, 2023

Daniel said:
Still no mention of next years contract? Free buy price is still strong and rising.

View attachment 1133274

I asked this before but will we be able to put 25% into the but we can choose to sell and cash it in straightaway? When is the marketing period @Daniel ?

teslacoils · Aug 28, 2023

Oh folk, bs will be pissing themselves when the sub- £40 price comes out, with nfus creaming over what an ace deal it is.

Will be all "long term partnerships" and "new investment in plant" aka long term bumming for you lot and tuppence on intake on a factory held together with duct tape.

Anyway, two weeks until it's not worth planting osr, so you'll soon know.

Daniel · Aug 28, 2023

Flat 10 said:
I asked this before but will we be able to put 25% into the but we can choose to sell and cash it in straightaway? When is the marketing period @Daniel ?

Last year I think you could put 20% in, the marketing period was September to this August. You don’t get paid until you deliver your first 20% of quota.

I think I’ve got that right.

Chris W · Aug 28, 2023

Daniel said:
Last year I think you could put 20% in, the marketing period was September to this August. You don’t get paid until you deliver your first 20% of quota.

I think I’ve got that right.

Thought it was only 10%

robbie · Aug 28, 2023

teslacoils said:
Oh folk, bs will be pissing themselves when the sub- £40 price comes out, with nfus creaming over what an ace deal it is.

Will be all "long term partnerships" and "new investment in plant" aka long term bumming for you lot and tuppence on intake on a factory held together with duct tape.

Anyway, two weeks until it's not worth planting osr, so you'll soon know.

100% correct.

BS will be laughing all the way to the bank.

NFUs will be blowing each other off with their success for such a wonderful agreement which really reinforces the working partnership blah blah blah.

Factory investment will be 2 rolls of duct.
I've said before but I know maintenance staff at bury and they've say for years it's completely fecked.

On a separate note but I've seen a advert for McCain chips and they make a big deal about all there farmers being 100% regenerative, what the feck that means I don't know but just how many years will it be before the good old boys and girls at NFUS and there pals at BS will be dreaming up some similar cobblers for us beet grower's!!!!

I can see it now BS will dream it up and NFUs will think it's wonderful and ask us all to roll over and have our tummies rubbed without so much as even a hint of financial reward because it's seen by them to be the "right" thing for grower's to do.

Flat 10 · Aug 28, 2023

Daniel said:
Last year I think you could put 20% in, the marketing period was September to this August. You don’t get paid until you deliver your first 20% of quota.

I think I’ve got that right.

So if the same as this year we will be able to fix almost immediately after the contract is signed?

Daniel · Aug 28, 2023

Flat 10 said:
So if the same as this year we will be able to fix almost immediately after the contract is signed?

I think so.

And I bet the BS accountants offer £36 for the contract price and say ‘but if you fix your 20% free buy straight away you’ll average £40 same as last year’.

In effect taking all the uplift for themselves.

Sugar beet price 2024

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0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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