Preliminary results suggest that nearly two-thirds of farmers surveyed anticipate that their farm-saved seed area will remain the same in the next three to five years, while 30% are looking to increase their area.

Interest in farm-saved seed has increased in recent weeks because of the shortages of many popular varieties of spring barley and pulses due to a surge in demand.

Farm-saved seed also offers a way to control costs, but certified seed has its advantages in terms of minimising disease, improving quality and bringing the latest genetics onto farm.

The wheat quality problems of the last harvest reinforced the risk of fusarium ear blight resulting in seedling blight and there are reports of poor germination rates in some farm-saved seed.

Therefore, Crops magazine is looking in more detail at farm-saved versus certified seed and needs your help with its mini-survey.

We are looking to determine what proportion of total cropping area is typically home saved and what future trends might be.

Take part in the survey