Written by Charlotte Cunningham from CPM Magazine
A “smarter” approach to crop rotation planning will help growers maximise productivity and deliver on the environmental goals of the new farm policy era, says Hutchinsons head of integrated crop management, David Howard. Charlotte Cunningham reports. The removal of direct payments threatens to reduce the ability of businesses to tolerate poor seasons, so growers should act now to build greater financial and agronomic resilience into farm rotations and help businesses capitalise on future opportunities, he says. This requires moving away from focussing on crop gross margins towards more emphasis on the net impact of any decisions on the wider rotation and cost structure (fixed and variable). “Take oilseed rape for example. The higher prices we’ve seen in recent months make the gross margin much more attractive and if crops yield well, no other break crop compares to it. But the risks of growing OSR haven’t gone anywhere,” explains David. Growers must be realistic about potential losses and consider how risks can be mitigated, which may affect other parts of the rotation. For example, the preceding crop must allow early access to land for drilling into a good, friable surface, any soil issues need to be rectified well before OSR is…
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A “smarter” approach to crop rotation planning will help growers maximise productivity and deliver on the environmental goals of the new farm policy era, says Hutchinsons head of integrated crop management, David Howard. Charlotte Cunningham reports. The removal of direct payments threatens to reduce the ability of businesses to tolerate poor seasons, so growers should act now to build greater financial and agronomic resilience into farm rotations and help businesses capitalise on future opportunities, he says. This requires moving away from focussing on crop gross margins towards more emphasis on the net impact of any decisions on the wider rotation and cost structure (fixed and variable). “Take oilseed rape for example. The higher prices we’ve seen in recent months make the gross margin much more attractive and if crops yield well, no other break crop compares to it. But the risks of growing OSR haven’t gone anywhere,” explains David. Growers must be realistic about potential losses and consider how risks can be mitigated, which may affect other parts of the rotation. For example, the preceding crop must allow early access to land for drilling into a good, friable surface, any soil issues need to be rectified well before OSR is…
The post Take a smarter approach to rotation planning, says Hutchinsons appeared first on cpm magazine.
Continue reading on CPM website...
If you are enjoying what you read then why not considering subscribing here: http://www.cpm-magazine.co.uk/subscribe/