Sugarbeet 2020

[Andyrob]

Taken from FB link below

2020 SUGAR BEET CONTRACT OFFER ANNOUNCED TODAY: Not a lot to get excited about...
A one-year contract will be offered for 2020 at a contract price of £19.60/t, with no crown tare deduction and based on the current sugar content payment scale. This is equivalent to a price paid of £20.99/t on a crowned basis.
A three-year contract will be offered for 2020-22 at a price of £20.45/t, with no crown tare deduction. This is equivalent to a price paid on a crowned basis of £21.90/t in year one and an equivalent £21.18/t in years two and three.
Both contracts will offer a bonus price for growers, which triggers if the EU-reference price for white sugar reaches a certain price. For the one-year contract, if the reference price reaches €375 per tonne, growers will receive a 15% share of the price above that point. For the three-year contract, if the price reaches €400 per tonne, growers will receive a 25% share of the price above that point.
A maximum of 65% of the total, national contracted volume will be available on three-year deals in any combination, on a first-come-first-served basis.
All contracts will be available to all growers. Any grower on the existing 2018-20 three-year deal can transfer to the 2020-22 three-year deal. This can be for either the full term or for the remaining two years from 2021-22 after completing the third year of the existing three-year deal.
The prices in the three-year contract reflect the change to the sugar scale and no crown deduction from 2021 which was agreed last year. These changes mean that in years two and three growers will be paid, on average, for approximately an additional 3% adjusted tonnes. However, the sugar scale change will affect all growers differently, as growers with higher sugar contents will gain fewer additional tonnes while growers with lower sugar contents will gain more.
Also agreed in this year’s contract:
• Market bonuses will be paid in two instalments to improve grower cashflow. The first will be paid as soon as beet volumes are finalised post-campaign.
• The 0.02% reduction in measured sugar content applied in the tarehouse (the ‘saw blade’ adjustment’) will be removed from the 2021 crop onwards.
• The paid mileage cap at Newark will reduce to 55 miles in 2021 and 50 miles in 2022. The cap will remain at 60 miles for all other factories. If contract volume is available at Newark, growers contracted to Wissington above 60 miles but closer than 50 miles to Newark will have first refusal on the option to transfer their contract to Newark ahead of this tonnage being offered elsewhere.
• In the event British Sugar no longer feeds prices into the EU average sugar price, an agreed alternative market bonus mechanism will apply from the month this takes effect. The agreed mechanism will ensure growers share any Brexit-related increase in UK sugar prices.
• Contract Tonnage Entitlement (CTE) leasing and transfers will only be possible where this does not lead to an increase in mileage. Growers will be able to appeal any rejection of the lease/transfer if they can show that the condition will be met in the coming year.
You can expect to receive your 2020 contract offer documents in the post over the next couple of weeks. If you require further clarification or help, please do not hesitate to contact the British Sugar Grower Services team on 0800 090 2376 or the NFU Sugar helpline on 0370 066 1974

https://www.facebook.com/robin.limb/posts/10218019416409538

 

[Mixedupfarmer]

Will look forward to the market bonuses being paid in two instalments, it will be so much better getting £0 in two instalments, rather than one later on!

 

[farmerfred86]

2 years with dry hot summers and new aphid pressure have added to the pressure from reduced prices. I think many will hang on at this price but its really the bottom end of "why bother" now.

 

[traineefarmer]

It's bad. But not bad enough to throw in the towel yet.

 

[Hindsight]

It's bad. But not bad enough to throw in the towel yet.

So that means British Sugar negotiators have achieved total success!

 

[robbie]

So that means British Sugar negotiators have achieved total success!

Yes and we always knew they would, BS is very clever and are able to walk all over us growers and NFU sugar who are supposed to be fighting for the growers.

 

[Brisel]

As I've said before, you have a choice.

 

[nick...]

Why keep growing them if you’re not happy.id imagine lots of farmers grow them as they allways have grown them.they are a good break crop but hellishly expensive to grow and weed beet are a pain.british sugar have everything in their favour
Nick...

 

[farmerfred86]

A lot of farmers never look at gross margins and will simply grow beet because its what they have always done. I dare say many would grow it at a loss.

 

[Spud]

You are quite correct, its nowt special!

In 1984, my late father grew 18.5t of beet to the acre, for a price of £38/t - a top line of £703. On my current 3yr deal, at £22.50/t, I need 31.2t/ac to match the top line, never mind the bottom one! Last year I managed 35.44t/ac average - with a range from 21-44t/ac from 5 fields. My 5yr average yield has continued to rise, though I fear that trend may now be history, with higher threats from no neonic seed dressing. My costs are much higher than 1984 too.

In beets favour, its consistent performance and relatively (up until now at least) low risk growing ranks it above OSR for me, particularly when I have nearly four times more spuds than I would have OSR (If I was crazy enough to grow the stuff) Beans are wish drops, and we already grow them on heavy land, Oats too.

For me, if BS continue to lack respect for their grower base, then I will look for alternative homes for my beet. I have two AD plants within 15 miles, and lots of livestock in the area, so I'm sure it wont be too difficult.

As for @farmerfred86 saying he thinks 'many would grow it at a loss' - dont be daft lad, no one sets out to lose brass, but there's very few enterprises don't have a bad year at some point or other.

 

[traineefarmer]

I really don't think there is a need for the NFU sugar team any more now that EU sugar regime and tariff protection are no longer in place. Cereal growers are quite happy to negotiate malting and milling contracts without the union holding their hands and as is already the case farmers won't accept the contract to grow if the margin isn't there.

If it is uneconomical to grow and process beet sugar in the UK against a world market why try to slow the decline?

I know my costs and I know the figure that I can go down to before I say that's it. We're not there yet, but it's getting very close. There are plenty of crops that will fit in my rotations just as well as beet. Lower margins, but with much less work and costs.

 

[moldengineer]

My biggest annoyance is that the mileage cap for Newark is being reduced. We are 59 miles from the factory so will be paying for haulage within 3 years if we continue. I find it a good crop to grow, we have an excellent contractor with good equipment therefore making it quite easy to grow. Certainly easier than potatoes.