Visitors to the summer meeting at AHDB’s Crediton Monitor Farm looked at current rotations and cropping options for the future.
James Lee, who hosts the Monitor Farm group with his brother Jonathan at the 260ha Uppincott farm, said: “The biggest topic for me has been the cost of producing the crops. We’ve all got questions on costs of production and chemical costs.”
“I’m thinking about returning to oilseed rape. We stopped when the price fell, and I liked having a lower slug pressure. However, if we now return to rape I’d hope the whole farm would benefit from a longer rotation and produce good yields. With prices rising again it could be a profitable re-introduction.”
Philip Dolbear, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Knowledge Exchange Manager for the south-west, said: “The business improvement aspect of Monitor Farms is key, especially in terms of sharing best practice between farmers.
“When it comes to cropping options it’s also important to consider the long-term market. There might be stark changes season to season, but what are the five-year averages, for example?”
Phillip Dolbear encouraged farmers at the meeting to think carefully about which areas of their own farms are cropped, and whether the crops grown in them are generating sufficient gross margin to cover business fixed costs.
During the past year the group has discussed profitability and the impact of fixed costs – which can be changed and which cannot? Which crops and enterprises are making the money? What level of profit does the business need to make? The group has benchmarked their performance against each other and held meetings focussing on soils with Philip Wright and Joel Williams.http://cereals.ahdb.org.uk/press/2016/august/03/cropping-options-at-crediton-monitor-farm.aspx
