Make a better return on your rape crop

[toxic32]

I'm not a farmer! But I do spend lots of time walking in the country thinking about products development and inventing. Which is my main form of income! I was bored one day as I had nothing specific to work on and think about. So I gave myself the problem of looking for a project to work on. As I was out in the country I selected oil seed rape as a project to look at. After doing some simple research I could see that the rape crop had a bigger potential than just the seed production. The return of around £400 t/ha seemed a small return for all the effort that goes into producing it. I could see that simply bottling it in small bottles and selling as an additive to food. After all the oil is classed as a super food. With an average of 30g or less per bottle selling in the shops at around £1.50 per bottle
(View The Flavourful Range Of Recipes & Products By Schwartz Online)

You could produce around 34,000 bottles per hectare! Even selling them on at 20p a bottle would give you £6,800 return per hectare. Still, I'm not going to do the work for you. (However, you could employ me as a consultant if you want to see how you could develope a market for your prodcuts?)

I don't want to teach you to suck eggs! But another way of getting a better return on your crop is ti ignore the seed crop and make use of the foliage as a product! Have you ever eaten any rape foliage? Try it? The best time to try it is before it flowers (Know) I'm also a trained chef and I can tell you the top half of the plant stem tastes better or as good as asparagus. The Leaves vacuum packed or not it would sell as spring greens. Spinach is selling £1.50 per 200g in the shops. If you sew 120 seeds SQ/m and crop it before it flowers each plant stem with the foliage weighs around 85g. Useable foliage. You do the math! Strip the leaves and bag, sell the the stems cut into 10cm lengths separately You should get around 10,200 t/ha. Just selling it as pet food at 50p per 500g gets you aorund £5100 per hectare.

Just a few thoughs!

 

[TripleSix]

Don't forget the labour involved for picking, packaging, buying equipment, space, regulations.

And actually being able to sell the product...

There is already plenty of folks doing the cold pressed rapeseed oil job

 

[Zippy768]

Not that simple. Next you'd be telling me that instead of sending 300 beef animals to Abbatours each year I should get them killed and butchered my self and sell them at Christmas and farmers markets. Cos I'd be able to sell three burgers for £10. Good for two animals, not 300. Good for two hectares, not 100

 

[toxic32]

Of course, It will always depend on your point of view! Is the glass half empty or half full? It's always easy to think of reasons why it can't be done and overlook the reasons how it can be done. Pessimist or optimist? You of all people should know? From acorns oak trees grow.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

I'm not a farmer! But I do spend lots of time walking in the country thinking about products development and inventing. Which is my main form of income! I was bored one day as I had nothing specific to work on and think about. So I gave myself the problem of looking for a project to work on. As I was out in the country I selected oil seed rape as a project to look at. After doing some simple research I could see that the rape crop had a bigger potential than just the seed production. The return of around £400 t/ha seemed a small return for all the effort that goes into producing it. I could see that simply bottling it in small bottles and selling as an additive to food. After all the oil is classed as a super food. With an average of 30g or less per bottle selling in the shops at around £1.50 per bottle
(View The Flavourful Range Of Recipes & Products By Schwartz Online)

You could produce around 34,000 bottles per hectare! Even selling them on at 20p a bottle would give you £6,800 return per hectare. Still, I'm not going to do the work for you. (However, you could employ me as a consultant if you want to see how you could develope a market for your prodcuts?)

I don't want to teach you to suck eggs! But another way of getting a better return on your crop is ti ignore the seed crop and make use of the foliage as a product! Have you ever eaten any rape foliage? Try it? The best time to try it is before it flowers (Know) I'm also a trained chef and I can tell you the top half of the plant stem tastes better or as good as asparagus. The Leaves vacuum packed or not it would sell as spring greens. Spinach is selling £1.50 per 200g in the shops. If you sew 120 seeds SQ/m and crop it before it flowers each plant stem with the foliage weighs around 85g. Useable foliage. You do the math! Strip the leaves and bag, sell the the stems cut into 10cm lengths separately You should get around 10,200 t/ha. Just selling it as pet food at 50p per 500g gets you aorund £5100 per hectare.

Just a few thoughs!

I think the first 4 words of your speach sum this post up

 

[Greenbeast]

tldr; "i don't know what i'm talking about, but i'm going to advise you anyway"

 

[toxic32]

You can lead a horse to water.. True! I may not be a farmer! But I am a businessman who runs a multi-billion pound multinational conglomerate. Keep walking behind that old nag and ploughing the land while others make millions off your sweat. I bet you still believe the world is flat and they never landed on the moon.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

You can lead a horse to water.. True! I may not be a farmer! But I am a businessman who runs a multi-billion pound multinational conglomerate. Keep walking behind that old nag and ploughing the land while others make millions off your sweat. I bet you still believe the world is flat and they never landed on the moon.

Gentleman, we are humbled by the Presence of a multi billionaire to our forum.

If your idea is so good why haven't you bought up a few farms with the stray coins under your bespoke made sofas and got on and done it rather than take work from your many PA's to type this yourself.

I wonder how tall you are?

 

[Gone Shooting]

Maybe he has and makes hoovers for a living.

 

[TomD]

Gentleman, we are humbled by the Presence of a multi billionaire to our forum.

If your idea is so good why haven't you bought up a few farms with the stray coins under your bespoke made sofas and got on and done it rather than take work from your many PA's to type this yourself.

I wonder how tall you are?

Where does he say he is a billionaire?

 

[7610 super q]

Where does he say he is a billionaire?

" Runs a multi billion pound multinational conglomerate."

 

[TomD]

" Runs a multi billion pound multinational conglomerate."


View attachment 490652

That doesnt make him a billionaire though they may turn over billions but only make £1 million profit! Turnover is vanity profit is sanity!

 

[chickens and wheat]

An Indian fellow used to come and take a few bag fulls of rape leaves off our crops, he said they were for eating, In return he gave my Dad a new suit, not a special suit but wearable.
he turned up 3 or 4 years in a row about 20 years ago

My Uncle runs this business
http://wharfevalleyfarms.co.uk/

 

[Doing it for the kids]

That doesnt make him a billionaire though they may turn over billions but only make £1 million profit! Turnover is vanity profit is sanity!

Yup, but it was implied. Can't think of many businesss models where billions are turned over and £1mil is made.

An Indian fellow used to come and take a few bag fulls of rape leaves off our crops, he said they were for eating, In return he gave my Dad a new suit, not a special suit but wearable.
he turned up 3 or 4 years in a row about 20 years ago

My Uncle runs this business
http://wharfevalleyfarms.co.uk/

Friends of mine set up similar after college and won awards for it. Sure it's a viable business but they won't be retiring at 35 to their private island.

It's all about scale as @Zippy768 said.

 

[franklin]

The return of around £400 t/ha seemed a small return for all the effort that goes into producing it. I could see that simply bottling it in small bottles and selling as an additive to food. After all the oil is classed as a super food.

Good crop of OSR will produce an income of £1620 per acre. But yes, processing will add value. If you want, I would be happy to rent you a small workshop; lend the money for a press; supply as much seed as you want for only £10 per ton over the normal market price. You cant convert 500 acres of crop all into small bottles of oil, so you are really looking at a small ammount of additional sales income for a lot of time dealing with the public who might want one bottle each.

 

[TomD]

Yup, but it was implied. Can't think of many businesss models where billions are turned over and £1mil is made.



Friends of mine set up similar after college and won awards for it. Sure it's a viable business but they won't be retiring at 35 to their private island.

It's all about scale as @Zippy768 said.

There is also a difference between Running and owning a billion pound business

 

[7610 super q]

Yes, yes.....but we mustn't pooh-poo the OP's ideas.
As said in other threads though....farmers are farmers, food manufacturers are food manufacturers, retailers are retailers. Very difficult to be successful at all 3.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

There is also a difference between Running and owning a billion pound business

Yes of course but seriously, someone running a billon pound business will not be on the min wage