Currently looking over our new contract offer , reading the detail it looks like we may have to subsidise the haulage a little specially in a low sugar year but otherwise similar financial outcome but can anyone inform me on the new ‘volumetric sugar scale’ ?
Sugar beet 2020 and beyond
- Thread starter Goffer
- Start date
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
Good call, I couldn't quite work out about the volumetric sugar scale thingy. I just came to the conclusion that it would be in bs favour.
- Location
- south norfolk
From what I understand talking to people is that british sugar are getting absolutly desperate for growers as most are not happy with the cost or being messed about.
Nick...
Nick...
Well they’ve done there best to bugger up beet job north of Doncaster . Reading the factory return newark is again behind in the productivity scales against the other factory’s . Better crop than barley though we will stick with it just puzzled by this new so called scale
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
I'm hearing the same and in the other thread I did mention the whispers I'd heard about BS going direct to some mega big growers before the contract was released but what amazes me even more is that the NFU haven't noticed/ caught wind of this, capitalised on it and used it to our (growers) advantage.
As useful as a chocolate teapot as always.
Mixedupfarmer
Member
- Location
- Norfolk
~Just growing the last year of our 3 year £22.50/t beet next year, and will take a view on the job next year
I don't think you need to know. Its taken into account with the removal of crown tare when calculating the new prices. In theory we are no better or worse off as I understand it.
Messing with it all for little reason or gain then.
- Location
- Mid Norfolk
Beet are still a good crop for us to grow from a rotation point of view, but the margins mean we don't grow for maximum quality or yield anymore.
Escolta? Forget it.
Extra N? No way.
Clean, weed free fields? Nah.
Topped to perfection? Pfft. We sharpen the scalpers every other day and have increased the harvester speed.
Our agronomist doesn't like it and neither does the BS rep, but we are simply doing the job to the standard they are paying for.
The NFU should be ashamed of themselves with the contracts being offered after all the carrot dangling letters we received earlier in the year proclaiming how hard they were working towards an offer that everyone will be happy with.
I honestly think we would be better off just being offered a price by BS and choosing to take it or leave it. Clearly the crop is no longer of national importance like it was post war and we have plenty of other cropping options that are kinder to the soil and less stressful to grow. I just get the impression that BS don't really want to be in the business of producing sugar in the UK and NFU negotiations are just prolonging it's slow death.
Escolta? Forget it.
Extra N? No way.
Clean, weed free fields? Nah.
Topped to perfection? Pfft. We sharpen the scalpers every other day and have increased the harvester speed.
Our agronomist doesn't like it and neither does the BS rep, but we are simply doing the job to the standard they are paying for.
The NFU should be ashamed of themselves with the contracts being offered after all the carrot dangling letters we received earlier in the year proclaiming how hard they were working towards an offer that everyone will be happy with.
I honestly think we would be better off just being offered a price by BS and choosing to take it or leave it. Clearly the crop is no longer of national importance like it was post war and we have plenty of other cropping options that are kinder to the soil and less stressful to grow. I just get the impression that BS don't really want to be in the business of producing sugar in the UK and NFU negotiations are just prolonging it's slow death.
Share them! Actually that might be true but does the margin compare? As an aside most people have found that pushing hard for yield is the only way to make them pay, its interesting to hear those that have gone the other way. Wouldn't dream of no escolta, low N or decent weed control as i have spent by then on seed and fert. Harvesting cost and rent is fixed so I want as much beet as possible.
- Location
- Breckland
I will still grow beet, I have a sizeable tonnage on the 2018 deal and will need to grow some on the 2020 deal to fit with my rotation and field size.
My concern at the moment is when do I get to choose the varieties.
Last year I couldn't get my preferred ones and as a result I have lots of bolters. Varietal choice or lack of, will influence whether I continue to grow beet beyond 2020.
My concern at the moment is when do I get to choose the varieties.
Last year I couldn't get my preferred ones and as a result I have lots of bolters. Varietal choice or lack of, will influence whether I continue to grow beet beyond 2020.
I was livid about that too. I have some proper toss in the ground and I had verbally ordered mine with the fieldsman straight away but they 'forgot' to process them. I won't be having either of these 2 again thats for sure.
- Location
- Mid Norfolk
Is anyone going down the ALS inhibitor resistant route? The technology is really tempting, but the costs don't add up to me.
- Location
- Mid Norfolk
Soil type, plenty of manure and having our own (ancient) machinery and (not so ancient) labour force is what saves us. If we used contractors to harvest or relied entirely on artificial fert, we would have had to pack in a few years back.
Got to be some benefit to having all these cattle at the moment.
- Location
- Suffolk
Supply/demand/beet price would suggest otherwise!
- Location
- West Suffolk
It turns out we have one more year to run on the 2018 contract. There isn’t any point signing up to the 2 years beyond is there? They still have to offer us a new deal next year for 20/21, or don’t they?
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I missed the second escolta spray and doesn't look very good with brown rust.
We use ancient machinery. Contractors would make it marginal. If the sheep didn't eat the tops I probably wouldn't bother.
ALS tolerant baristas are something we are looking at for when we have used up next year's Maxxpro, if we grow it in 2022. Comes at a price though, but we can easily get overrun by cranesbill.
We use ancient machinery. Contractors would make it marginal. If the sheep didn't eat the tops I probably wouldn't bother.
ALS tolerant baristas are something we are looking at for when we have used up next year's Maxxpro, if we grow it in 2022. Comes at a price though, but we can easily get overrun by cranesbill.
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
Kind of the same here. Plenty of fym, old(ish) machinery depreciated to nothing, staff that are here anyway and being good in the workshop makes beet profitable for us. I know we still have costs and they need to factored in but it costs us only a fraction of what it would if we used contractors for drilling and lifting.Soil type, plenty of manure and having our own (ancient) machinery and (not so ancient) labour force is what saves us. If we used contractors to harvest or relied entirely on artificial fert, we would have had to pack in a few years back.
Got to be some benefit to having all these cattle at the moment.
As for inputs, we'll feed them well and normally use two fungicides although this year I only did the one later on as they were clean or burn to a crisp at the normal T1 timing.
I'll aim to only use two herbicides and I dont normally bother too much with a graminicide as i can live with a few oats.
I would stop my nfu levy tomorrow if I could, i fail to see what they've achieved over the last few seasons. At the end of the day BS offer us a price on a take it or leave it deal and they'd do exactly the same without nfu intervention.
Why does the 3 year contract offer not have a index linked mechanism built into it for inflation. I'll bet that inputs wont be the same price in three years yet they expect us to still produce them for the same. I can only see virus yellows increasing year on year,couple that with a price which in real terms will be getting less each year makes committing to more than 1 year at a time a big gamble in my opinion.
- Location
- Breckland
I am only signing up for 2020 beet and the final year of the 2018 contract. The form is slightly misleading to the point if you have a 2018 contract you only need to add the planned area to achieve that tonnage in the bottom box
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