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Know How / Other crops

There are many minor and niche break crops, such as oats and linseed, which can bring many benefits to a crop rotation. This page aims to help you grow a more profitable break crop.

This is your starting point for identifying which crops to grow, how to grow them and address challenges such as weed and disease control.

Key areas of focus:

  • Choosing the right crop and finding contracts
  • Getting establishment right
  • Meeting market specifications
  • Crop agronomy, such as disease and weed control

Must reads

Case studies

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PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Why a long-term no-tiller is ploughing again on heavy soils

For more than 20 years, a bare brown field has not been seen on Motts Farm on the Dengie peninsula in Essex, with crops established using zero tillage. But that…

OTHER CROPS

Why East Yorks grower added flax to the rotation

Jonathan Hodgson isn’t averse to growing niche crops at Great Newsome Farm in East Yorkshire, and for the past three years his cropping mix has included a fibre crop that…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why blueberries are working well for Northants arable farm

The search for a diversification project that could make use of an existing irrigation abstraction licence, along with a desire to support the next generation, led to the Mee family…

OTHER CROPS

Cider start-up helps future-proof traditional orchards

First-generation cider-maker Polly Hilton is working with Devon farmers to breathe life back into traditional orchards and transform what would otherwise be wasted apples into quality cider. Polly aims to…

HARVEST

Harvest highs and lows from Arable Insights farmer panel

After a difficult season, what has the combine delivered for our eight Arable Insights growers? Farmers Weekly caught up with them to see how the harvest has progressed. See also:…

CARBON

World’s first verified carbon-negative tree nursery founded

The world’s first verified carbon-negative tree nursery, founded by farmer’s son Renwick Drysdale in Scotland, is seeking to help meet surging demand for tree planting and habitat restoration projects. The…

Practical advice

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OTHER CROPS

How to maximise SFI herbal leys in arable rotations

About 175,000ha of SAM3 herbal leys are due to be grown in Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 (SFI23) schemes, according to the figures released by Defra for agreements reached by the…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Tips for spring barley growers as lodging risk rises

Spring barley and oat growers are being advised to use plant growth regulator this spring to avoid yield losses in what could be a higher risk year. Growth regulators can…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How to tackle hefty spring arable workloads after wet winter

Spring workloads are mounting on most arable farms, so sorting fieldwork priorities to ensure optimum return on investment where crops are variable and harvest profitability remains uncertain is a tricky…

OTHER CROPS

Round-up of the niche crop options for UK growers

Introducing alternative break crops to an arable rotation can help growers improve soil health, spread market risk and further financial gain. As pesticide actives are lost and resistance fears build,…

OTHER CROPS

Hybrid rye: The benefits of growing it and how to do it well

Hybrid rye offers several benefits to arable rotations, not least because of the ability of its extensive root system to extract soil nutrients, potentially cutting nitrogen fertiliser requirements by 40%…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Winter oats facing high disease could benefit from T0 spray

Winter oat growers could benefit from an earlier spring fungicide than usual as crops face a higher disease pressure, following a relatively mild winter. Mildew, crown rust and septoria have…

Insights

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PEST MANAGEMENT

Where is the crop industry with nematode biocontrols?

The dwindling availability of insecticide seed treatment and nematicides has paved the way for pest control using entomopathogenic nematodes. Following successful trial work in key high-value crops, farmer uptake looks…

OTHER CROPS

Do soya bean crops have a future in the UK?

Could soya beans eventually become a break crop of choice for UK growers? Currently, that’s difficult to believe with no more than 200ha grown in the UK last season –…

ROTATIONS

AHDB analysis: The merits of SFI break crop alternatives

Finding a reliable break crop in the arable rotation is an ongoing challenge. Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions, such as herbal leys or legume fallows could be an alternative, especially…

VARIETY SELECTION

Spring barley list sees four additions and net blotch scores

The new AHDB spring barley 2025-26 Recommended List has four new varieties and, for the first time this year, includes disease resistance ratings for net blotch. The four additions are under…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

How farmers can benefit from growing hemp market

Fast growing with break crop suitability, hemp can produce high-value fibres in a low-input system, with low nitrogen requirement, and minimal chemicals. But one of industrial hemp’s major downfalls is…

ARABLE

Why winter linseed is an option for Scots growers

Winter linseed could offer Scottish growers a low-input, high-yielding alternative break crop on farms where winter oilseed rape yields are falling. Scottish Agronomy has been trialling winter linseed with Premium…

OTHER CROPS

How to get the best out of IPM3 companion cropping in SFI

Companion cropping is perhaps one of the easier options to include in Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements, particularly if you’re growing oilseed rape or perhaps maize, or for an end…

TECHNOLOGY

How Precision Breeding Act is advancing gene edited crops

In-field testing of crops that have been gene edited to introduce specific traits and characteristics has become much easier in England following changes to existing legislation on crop biotechnology, with…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Could sunflowers fill the cropping gap this spring?

The first UK marketing pool for sunflowers gives farmers an alternative spring option to make up some of their winter cropping shortfall. Latest AHDB figures show that the wheat area…

ARABLE

Cover crop study shows yield benefits of destruction methods

Research funded by water companies has revealed significant differences between cover crop destruction methods for nitrogen availability in the following crop and weed control. A further project has highlighted the…

OTHER CROPS

Why flax for fibre could reappear in arable rotations

Rising demand for sustainable fibres and the ability of crops such as flax and hemp to capture carbon from the air could see their return in arable rotations, offering farmers…

Video

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CROP MANAGEMENT

Video: How nozzle choice affects spray quality and efficacy

Selecting the appropriate sprayer nozzle for pre-emergence weed control is an important step in cutting spray drift and maximising the efficacy of the chemicals being applied. There are four key…

ARABLE

Video: How to calibrate your slug pellet spreader

Slug pellets and the potential harm they can cause to watercourses is under intensifying scrutiny. Making sure pellet spreaders are properly set up will be vital to avoid breaching the…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Garford weeder ends crop failures at organic farm

Since starting to weed his cereal crops five years ago with a Garford mechanical hoe, organic grower Robert Hyde hasn’t lost any of his crops to weeds. In the past…

ARABLE

Video: Grower undersows with clover to cut fertiliser costs

A regenerative farmer is experimenting with white clover understories to reduce his nitrogen fertiliser bills and provide additional grazing for the ewe flock. The price of natural gas, a key…