ࡱ> =?<[ bjbj 40ΐΐ4 11111DDDA C C C C C C ""%^C @DC 11X 11A A A1m#"Y- n 0 a,%r%%DZ@4vDDDC C 2xDDD %DDDDDDDDD : WYNNSTAY Eagle House Llansantffraid Powys SY22 6AQ T: 01691 828512 F: 01691 828690 www.wynnstay.co.uk Media Release 4th February 2009 Spring cropping options improve for regions arable farmers Arable farmers across the western region can look forward to improved prices for spring sown crops as long as they chose the right cropping options. That is the advice from Richard Torr of Wynnstay Arable who believes that grain and crop values are beginning to strengthen as farmers approach the critical spring sowing season. Large blocks of arable land have remained unsown through the winter after one of the wettest autumns in living memory prevented many crops from being drilled. An increased area of land is therefore available for spring cropping, but the question on many farmers minds is what to sow? With fertiliser prices beginning to ease back a little, and grain values firming as a result of the Pound slipping against the Euro, forward prices for spring planted crops are looking more attractive, explains Mr Torr. A significant reduction in autumn plantings and lower yield predictions due to poor establishment are also having some influence on grain values which are slowly starting to recover. Throughout the winter, gross margin forecasts were indicating that very few spring-sown crops were likely to be financially attractive. Some farmers in the region were even contemplating leaving areas fallow as this would have made better economic sense than growing a crop which at best would have broken even. But prices have recently been moving in the right direction with grain values for harvest 2009 currently around 115 per tonne for barley, 120 for wheat and 245 for oilseed rape, Mr Torr adds. Growers throughout the region have been waiting for ground conditions to improve to allow winter wheat to be drilled. We have now gone beyond the latest safe sowing date for many of the varieties and attention is now turning to spring options instead. In deciding what crop to grow the soil type and position in the rotation are important factors but equally important are the relative economics of each option. Spring barley has one of the best gross margin potentials and is tipped to cover the largest area throughout the Welsh Borders and West Midlands. This is despite reduced malting premiums which have fallen as a result of the increased supply of quality barley from across Europe in 2008. Popular varieties such as Tipple and Quench offer some useful agronomic and yield advantages over the recent favourite Optic, and spring barley offers the best alternative for farmers looking for a high yielding feed grain, especially now that stocks of spring wheat seed have all but sold out, claims Mr Torr. The extent of oilseed rape sown during the spring will be determined by how much of the autumns crop survives the winter. Some patching up is likely to be needed to bolster flagging crops, says Mr Torr, but where drilling in the autumn was not possible, the option of planting spring rape will help to keep crop rotations in some form of order. Mr Torr also believes that farmers should give some thought to spring beans and peas as an option this spring in the interests of creating good first wheat opportunities for the autumn. The demand for peas is strong following horrendous harvest conditions over the last two seasons and green peas in particular have been attracting very strong prices. Prices for good samples have approached 300/t whilst forward prices for harvest 2009 currently look likely to attract in excess of 200/t. The limiting factor for peas will be how many growers are prepared to give the crop another chance in the hope of a drier harvest, Mr Torr explains. However, if too many growers decide to try again, the supply of seed may be the biggest barrier as many seed crops were either lost in the field or suffered germination problems once harvested. Spring beans are a relatively safe and reliable break crop and can contribute well to following wheat crops. The fact that beans dont need any nitrogen fertiliser will be sufficient to entice many growers to sow a significant area this spring. However, the value of beans at harvest could come into question if the acreage sown is too high as we already have an increased area of winter beans in the ground. With seed supplies being very tight on some crops farmers should consult their seed merchant before making their final spring cropping decision to avoid missing any opportunities. -Ends- Notes to editors: Wynnstay Arable is one of the UKs largest arable seed merchants, with a trading area that covers the North West, West Midlands, Border Counties, Wales and the South West. The Wynnstay Group has two main divisions agriculture and retail and remains predominantly farmer controlled with over 50% of the companys shares held by local farmers. For more information, please visit the Wynnstay website at www.wynnstay.co.uk For further information, please contact: Richard Torr Arable Seeds Manager, Wynnstay Arable Tel: 01939 210777 Issued by: Paul Jennings - ABC Limited Office: 01694 731914 Mobile: 07515 260331 This news release can be downloaded directly from the ABC Press Centre at www.abccomms.co.uk  35WYlz{|~zgzVF5 hhP,q5B*CJaJphh3w0J5B*CJaJph!h0h3w0JB*CJaJph$h0h00JB*CJH*aJph!h0h00JB*CJaJph h0h3w5B*CJaJphhNh3w5B*ph,hNh3wB*CJaJmHnHphtH u,hNh3wB*CJaJmHnHphtH u'hNh5B*mHnHphtH u'hNhN5B*mHnHphtH u $*35FWYlz{dh^`gdd@r ^`gdV ^`gdC ^`gdC&d-DM P^`gd3w ^`gd3w ^`gd3w^ _ ` a   ? E  4 6   ] w  ! 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