2019 Beet area

spin cycle

Member
Location
north norfolk
there was a thread before xmas about beet with at least one poster wanting more tonnage but BS not wanting it....but alot of ppl have already cut back...thing is is it still the 'pick of a bad bunch' spring break wise?

i've a m8 involved with factory maint. and he says it's grim......no mkt for sugar either:(
 

alomy75

Member
I’m doubling up from 20ha to 46...compared to linseed and peas which actually cost us money to grow...it ticks a lot of boxes. Beet genetics are giving us 5% extra each year but you can’t just dip in and out...it really does respond to careful management throughout the season and treating like a mainstream crop rather than a break
 

Banana Bar

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bury St Edmunds
I’m doubling up from 20ha to 46...compared to linseed and peas which actually cost us money to grow...it ticks a lot of boxes. Beet genetics are giving us 5% extra each year but you can’t just dip in and out...it really does respond to careful management throughout the season and treating like a mainstream crop rather than a break

It’s a long time since I’ve seen virus yellows but I can assure you however much care and attention you languish on the beet crop VY will knacker your yield.
 
Sugar Beet have been the cornerstone crop in our area and have performed well giving a reasonable bottom line.
Many growers are cutting back their acreages because of the price reduction and the threat of virus yellows. The damage we are doing to the land with the far too heavy machinery is a strong reason for scaling back in my case, it seems that machinery manufacturers give little regard to how heavy these monstrous machines are becoming.
World sugar prices are depressed at the moment not helped by the media making sugar the new tobbacco.
ABF, the parent company of British Sugar will only produce sugar whilst it is profitable and although considerable investment has and still is being made at their remaining factories to gain efficiency they will not continue to produce if heavy losses leave no positive profits.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
Sugar Beet have been the cornerstone crop in our area and have performed well giving a reasonable bottom line.
Many growers are cutting back their acreages because of the price reduction and the threat of virus yellows. The damage we are doing to the land with the far too heavy machinery is a strong reason for scaling back in my case, it seems that machinery manufacturers give little regard to how heavy these monstrous machines are becoming.
World sugar prices are depressed at the moment not helped by the media making sugar the new tobbacco.
ABF, the parent company of British Sugar will only produce sugar whilst it is profitable and although considerable investment has and still is being made at their remaining factories to gain efficiency they will not continue to produce if heavy losses leave no positive profits.

BS have the same dilemma that we do when looking at fallowing land - if they reduce the throughput of the sugar factories they concentrate the unavoidable overheads on a smaller tonnage. Sometimes working at a small loss per tonne is better than standing them down and having a bigger loss.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 81 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 68 35.4%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.6%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.6%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,294
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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