Lincolnshire farmer Andrew Ward is on a quest to successfully grow a crop of British baked beans and has planted a field-scale trial this spring in conjunction with the University of Warwick and agronomy group Agrii.

According to the Business Insider website, more than 2.5 million tins of Heinz baked beans are sold each day in the UK, in a market which is totally reliant on imports, mainly from Canada.

A lack of available varieties of the navy bean – also known as the haricot bean – suited to the UK environment currently restricts domestic production.

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That’s why scientists at the University of Warwick have developed novel navy bean varieties suited to the UK climate using DNA mapping techniques.

Three varieties are now being put to the test in a 4.7ha field trial at Mr Ward’s arable farm near Leadenham, Lincolnshire.

“The trial aims to assess the best agronomic practice and ultimately promote UK food self-sufficiency,” he explained.

“It’s a new crop, so we know very little about it, but this offers a huge opportunity for UK farmers to tap into new markets, grow more home-grown protein and cut imports.

“This also provides another break crop option as many growers are struggling with oilseed rape.”

Several different plots have been established, with varying drill dates to assess optimum planting windows, with the first plots drilled three weeks ago.

Plots are also investigating the impacts of a companion crop of black oats to mitigate lodging risks and the effects of a starter fertiliser.

Mr Ward hopes for yields of about 2.5t/ha. The beans will be destined for seed multiplication due to limited seed availability in the UK.