Oilseed Rape

The Springdale Group is offering farmers a lucrative oilseed rape growing contract for this autumn which leaves them free to choose which variety is best suited to their land, but still guarantees to pay £150/tonne delivered, plus an oil content bonus.

As the crop is going to be burned to produce electricity, it also attracts the Government's Energy Crop payment.

“That effectively adds up to around £160/tonne, which we feel will be a very attractive offer to farmers considering how to make a profit in the next year”, says James Mackay, Springdale's sales manager, launching the contract at this month's Cereals 2005 event.

Where ever the crop is grown, the seed will be transported to Selby for burning, so Springdale expect this initial contract to be of greatest interest to farmers operating within a 100 mile radius of the plant, while being happy to consider crops from further afield, and looking to extend the offer in future years.

The £150/tonne price is for crop delivered to Selby, East Yorkshire. The oil bonus will be worth £1/tonne for every percentage point the oil content exceeds 40%, because this raises the calorific burn value of the seed:

“We just want the seed for this contract, not the straw. Whereas previous contracts have stipulated which variety the farmer should grow, and have specified a seed source, this contract is far more open. Farmers can choose the variety that they are most comfortable growing and obtain the seed where they want.

“Our best advice is to choose a heavy yielding variety which is suited to their own soils, rotations and other local circumstances”, says Mr Mackay. He expects the contract to attract great interest as farmers consider their future cropping:

“For the first time in generations farmers have another option this autumn - and that is to grow nothing! For years they have been accused of 'growing crops that are not wanted', and have struggled to budget because they have not known what price they will receive for whatever they grow.

“Contracts such as this one are changing that. These are 'in demand' crops with a guaranteed market and a guaranteed price.

“In common with many other crops Springdale offers, growing oilseed rape for power generation has an excellent environmental profile, as it is helping replace finite energy sources such as coal, gas and oil, with an alternative that is entirely renewable. We are sure farmers will want to become involved in growing for this market”.

BACKGROUND ON THE SPRINGDALE GROUP: The Springdale Group provides an essential link between research, industry and growers in areas of crop development for non-food applications. The company has a unique blend of agriculture, business acumen and scientific knowledge, and has proven expertise in growing crops used in the fibre, fuel and energy, biocomposites and oleochemical industries.