Oilseed rape Opportunities
The area of winter oilseed rape planted in the UK is expected to rise this year, as the price
remains good throughout Europe on the back of increased demand for biodiesel and lower than usual
stocks says David Whyte of United Oilseeds Marketing. “Gross margin figures look favourable and
should give confidence to the grower for the coming year. Increased demand for US and South
American soybeans from China support this forecast as crops in the main growing areas are under
stress from drought,” he added. “In Canada the reverse is true – too much rain – this will affect
most crops, including Canola (Oilseed rape) with reports of plantings down from more than 6.47m ha
(16m acres) last year to between 3.23m ha and 4.45m ha (8m and 11m acres). Crude oil is, as ever,
the unknown variable in this market; with the cost of production increasing due to environmental
issues, (notably the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico) the downward pressure on crude oil price seems
very limited.” Mr Whyte continues “harvest pressure will probably come into play if growers decide
to store their wheat and sell oilseed rape to pay for seed and fertiliser. As a result of these
positive market signals the oilseed rape area seems likely to increase in the coming season,
especially with new varieties delivering better yields and higher oil content.”
Oil Content
To take advantage of the high prices available, growers must be more conscious of oil
content, explains Lee Bennett of Openfield Agriculture. “Oil content is one of the biggest drivers
of profit in oilseed rape production, but it is all too often ignored,” he says.
With an oil bonus of 1.5% of the contract price for every 1% above 40% paid, the difference
between growing a relatively low oil yield variety like Astrid (42.7% HGCA average) and one of the
newer, higher oil yield varieties like Dimension (46.0%) can easily add up – at £250/t base price
that’s an extra £50/ha on a 4t/ha crop. “Oil content is an extremely stable characteristic,
so a high oil variety will always deliver more oil than a low or medium oil variety.”
Oil bonus chart
HGCA average ‘extra’ value per tonne Extra margin on a oil
content 4t/ha crop
|
Dimension
|
46.0
|
£22.50
|
£90.00
|
|
Vision
|
44.3
|
£16.13
|
£64.52
|
|
Astrid
|
42.7
|
£10.13
|
£40.50
|
Based on £250/t ex-farm price
Seed yield is far more varied than oil yield, says Mr Bennett as although it is driven by the
plant genetics the environment has a very important part to play in the final outcome.
Seed yield
Masstock Arable’s Barry Barker agrees with Mr Bennett’s observations: “The seed yield
component of a variety’s gross margin is certainly the most variable characteristic.”All farmers
know that even if they grow the same variety across the farm the yield will vary.”“That’s why
Castille remains popular – it produces a reliable yield year after year, field after field.” But it
faces competition from new varieties that have higher oil content. “While it remains second to none
for manageability, in output potential it’s now beginning to be overtaken by newer, higher oil
content varieties,” he says.“In particular we see the hybrids reproducing that stability of
performance. “In the past we have been concerned with the tendency of hybrid varieties
to produce bigger plants which has led to management difficulties for growers. However, breeders
are dealing with this issue now with the introduction of shorter ‘normal’ types like Primus , and
the development of new low biomass varieties, where the height of the crop is genetically limited,”
Mr Barker says.
Low biomass hybrids
Where ease of management is the priority, the arrival of the first low biomass hybrid to offer
a package of high output and a strong agronomic package could be the solution. On a par with
today’s most popular varieties it creates additional new growing opportunities.
At the forefront of this is breeder Dekalb. “With official testing putting DK Sequoia’s gross
output at the same level as many of the conventional Recommended List hybrids, in a crop guaranteed
to be around the same convenient height as the most manageable crops of Castille, even under the
most favourable growing conditions, low biomass hybrids are really coming of age,” points out
Dekalb breeder, Matthew Clarke.
“They can be sown early and pushed to yield without any real lodging risk. They can be
fertilised and sprayed throughout the growing season without high clearance equipment. And they can
be direct combined much faster than most crops with lower harvesting losses. Added to this is a
compact three-week flowering period allowing effective sclerotinia protection from a single early
flowering spray. A rich combination of yield and a superb agronomic package likely to suit all
those keen to build more flexibility and economy into their oilseed rape production.”
Autumn vigour
The present crop of low biomass varieties do have a different growth habit in the autumn,
suited more to August drilling than chasing a closing season, when speed of growth is essential to
ensure a successful establishment, and provide some protection from pigeon grazing. Excel has long
been a favourite for this reason, although it requires careful management to secure the best output
potential.
Compass now has the accolade of giving the fastest autumn vigour in HGCA trials says Mike Mann
from breeder DSV. “Data tends to be limited as not all trials are scored, but there is clearly a
difference between varieties when it comes to speed of emergence. Not all hybrids are fast, and not
all conventionals are slow,but fast growing varieties like Compass, Hammer or Dimension do
give you the opportunity to extend the drilling period if conditions are against you.
Speciality oil types
Speciality Vistive oil is another oilseed rape opportunity proving attractive to an increasing
number of growers as breeding advances deliver varieties with gross outputs comparable to double
lows. Although the criteria for growing Visitives are tight, and deliberately so, demand is
increasing as recognition of the superior fat profile of Visitive oil gains recognition and
appreciation among food producers and processors.
At Glebe Farm, Leadenham 2008 Arable Farmer of the Year, Andrew Ward is delighted to be
amongst the first to be trialling a new Vistive hybrid and anticipates an extension of the benefits
that persuaded him to move to a Vistive variety. Mr Wardhas his entire oilseed rape area down to a
Vistive variety, having found it to outperform double lows both financially and
agronomically.
“My confidence in this year’s Vistive crop is reinforced by the fact that we have already sold
80% of it forward for November at a base price which with oil bonus and premium will give us a
total profit after all growing costs of £160/t even if we only manage a yield of 4t/ha,” he
explains.
As Dekalb’s Mr Clarke explains “Recommended List data shows conventional Vistive varieties
yielding well below ‘normal oil’ types, but often trials can hide the real benefits that varieties
bring, this is especially the case with regard to hybrids.”
Hybrid performance
Official trials are designed to give each variety the chance to deliver its full genetic
potential, so as many variables as possible are controlled – there are no edges, tramlines or huge
variations in soil conditions – in a real field there are all of these things and more, all of
which combine to limit a variety’s potential . The use of a hybrid variety, especially on more
difficult fields, helps to lift the average yield by producing more seed compared with a
conventional variety which will struggle to cope so well with the conditions.
To evaluate the in-field realities of different varieties Openfield conducted a survey . “We
surveyed 160 growers this year producing just less than 13,000 ha of oilseed rape between
them. Some were growing 100% hybrids, some 100% conventionals and some a combination of the two,”
says Mr Bennett. “The mean yield advantage of hybrids was just less than 200kg/ha – that’s worth
about £50/t at today’s values – much more than the extra cost of the seed. Also of interest, the
spread in minimum and maximum yields recorded with hybrids was greater than the minimum and
maximum yields of the conventional varieties.”
One point that emerged from the Openfield survey was the growing awareness among growers
of the specialist characteristics of hybrids. “One comment that came across time and time again
[from the survey] was that farmers were choosing hybrids like Dimension for the right reasons – for
increased oil content, for speed of autumn growth and for reliable performance,” Mr Bennett
added.
DSV’s Mr Mann added that hybrids normally make a positive impression. “In general we see that
when farmers try hybrids for the first time, they stick with them, at least on a portion of their
planted area – the ‘hybrid advantage’ is most evident in a challenging year, but even when the
conditions are more benign hybrids give a level of insurance against field problems like drought.
For example, the more aggressive root development of hybrids can help to maintain water and
nutrient uptake better than that of a conventional variety,” he says.
