Next season’s spring cropping area is set to be much larger than in recent years as the poor weather forces growers to abandon their autumn drilling plans and crops fail over the winter, but care is needed in selecting the right crop.

AHDB/HGCA’s Early Bird Survey of cropping intentions, conducted by Andersons and Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC), show planting areas are down an anticipated 12% for winter wheat, 9% for winter barley and 3% for oilseed rape.

It is based on anecdotal evidence from agronomists responsible for nearly 240,000ha of arable land across England and Scotland.

Added to this is the estimated 20% failure of oilseed rape crops, with an ADAS report estimating that one-fifth of crops are “of questionable viability”.

About 7% of wheat is estimated to be at risk of failure. So what are the cropping options for growers who are being forced to adopt spring cropping next spring.

Barley

Spring barley has been the cornerstone of many spring cropping rotations and is generally grown on lighter land or following a winter harvested root crop such as sugar beet and potatoes. However, its popularity has left the seed cupboard looking pretty bare this spring.

“Spring barley seed without question has got very expensive and has nearly run out at £540/t,” says Richard Carlisle, Openfield’s regional manager in the south.

There are contracts available for malting barley that are fixed at feed price plus a premium, but growers need to see what contracts are available.

An oversupply from the increased area – HGCA estimates a 40% increase – is one concern. Mr Carlisle adds nearly 90% of malting barley is exported and the UK’s malting barley is some of the best there is. Short of say Argentina dumping a large tonnage on the European market there will be good trade for our barley, he says.

Searching through the HGCA’s Recommended List (RL) there are plenty of high-yielding malting varieties showing some impressive characteristics, so in the event of the sample not attracting a malting premium there will the yield element to consider.

“Spring barley on light land is the right option, as it has the best gross margin.

“It has been given some encouragement as barley prices are being pulled up by the strong wheat price,” says Jonathan Armitage, Bidwells head of farm management.

Wheat

Spring wheat might not be overly popular, but it does have a strong following on a small scale.

Like its barley counterpart it will often find favour in the rotation sat behind potatoes or sugar beet or following a wet autumn.

In general, the feed varieties will out yield the milling varieties by 10% for the same input costs.

Most years it will be the grower’s choice whether to opt for a feed or milling variety, but again seed stocks are limited so choice may be governed by availability.

In a normal season spring wheat will account for 2-3% of the total wheat area.

Spring oats are a niche crop that tends to be grown for the cereal and health foods market as well as by mixed farmers for livestock rations. Spring oats generally require fewer inputs than most other cereals, and have lower inputs than their winter cousins.

“Newer varieties like Canyon are proving popular with growers because of their general disease resistance and higher yields,” says Jonathan Arnold, barley and oat trader at Robin Appel.

“Seed availability is tight with Canyon sold out, but some of the older varieties are available in small quantities. They are generally in short supply so sell well on the open market with prices tracking the wheat futures price,” says Mr Arnold.

Linseed

Linseed varieties such as Brighton, Bilton and Abacus will form the bulk of the seed market with Brighton being the most popular because of its superior yield characteristics. Glossy, honey-coloured samples can attract a premium for human consumption and will primarily be grown on contract.

There are also contracts available for the yellow variety Marmalade, which attracts a higher price than the brown varieties, but will yield 10% less. Linseed tends to be traded at a premium over OSR. Its high Omega-3 content means it is increasingly used in animal feeds. Slightly late to harvest, but leaves the ground in good condition so quick and easy seed-beds are readily achievable for a following cereal.

PGRO’s Becky Ward urges farmers to test bean seed for stem and bulb nematode.

Pulses

Spring beans are a popular choice with growers this season and seed stocks are already very low. For those growers considering growing home-saved seed PGRO recommends that the seed be tested for stem and bulb nematode. Lab tests are already showing a high percentage of infected samples. There is no chemical means of control once established, and control is based on extending the rotation to avoid planting beans for 10 years, says Becky Ward, principle technical officer at PGRO.

Most spring beans are grown for human consumption and will attract a premium of £20-40/t over feed. Spring varieties will generally yield 5% less than winter varieties and are more suited to lighter land, but can be susceptible to drought. Spring beans can be difficult to establish on heavy land in the spring so heavy land growers tend to opt for winter varieties.

“Appearance of the sample is key, the housewife always buys with her eyes so if it’s grubby she won’t have it. Control of bruchid beetle is paramount to ensure the sample be can sold for human consumption,” says Richard Elsdon, area manager at United Oilseeds.

The spring pea market falls into three categories namely the marrowfats, white and large blues. “Marrowfats attract a premium and could be worth £320-330/t this November. Again the housewife buys with her eyes making appearance everything, so growers should be aware of pea moth and surface staining,” says Mr Elsdon.

Marrowfat yields are generally 10-15% lower than large blue yields but on par with winter bean yields,” he says.

Large blues samples are popular with snack food outlets as well as micronising for pet and animal food outlets. Popular varieties would include Prophet, Nitouche and Venture. “All marketing is based on quality of produce and making sure it is fit for purpose,” says Mr Elsdon.

Finally, white peas are used in pea soup and pease pudding production so appearance is less of an issue making them easier to grow. There are about five varieties to choose from, but this season getting hold of seed will be the issue for most growers, says Mr Elsdon.

Spring crop v fallowing: weighing up increased risk

Establishing spring crops on heavy land is not for the faint-hearted. Indeed some growers may consider establishing a green cover crop on all or part of their remaining area left to plant.

“Take wheat, for example,” says Sebastian Graff-Baker, Andersons farm consultant. “If you had an option of growing 8.3t/ha why would you choose to grow 6t/ha? With spring cropping you have to think about risk, if your spring crop fails you have no second option.”

While spring cropping might look attractive for grassweed control the same rules apply. “If blackgrass is an issue we suggest talking to the agronomist first and asking whether there is a way to continue growing 8.3t/ha. There will be very few situations where the agronomist won’t be willing to supply recommendations.

“Only if autumn- sown crops do less than 7t/ha do you switch to spring cropping. A move to spring cropping will mean lower yields, lower margins and less profit,” says Mr Graff-Baker.

However, much of the land left to be planted won’t lend itself to spring cropping, so careful planning is required to stop this year’s agony lingering into next season.

“The effect of last summer and autumn could go on for two years, plant the wrong crop this spring – say spring barley or oats that go in late and have modest or poor yields – and this could impact on next season’s oilseed rape establishment,” says Mr Eldon.

Which cover crop to grow will largely hinge on what other crops are grown in their rotation. Often 20% or more of the previous crops N can be left in the soil. The green manure crop can harvest the N and make 50% available to the following crop:

• For soil structure improvement grow crops such as rye, phacelia, Westerwolds ryegrass or mustard
  
• For soil structure and nitrogen fixing consider red clover, vetch, lucerne, rye and vetch mixtures
  
• To capture N and improve soil use mustard, phacelia, rye and oil radish
  
• Capture N, improve soil and reduce nematodes use, oil radish, white mustard, brown mustard, radish and mustard mixtures and Brazilian oats.

Cover crops could provide several opportunities for controlling blackgrass by allowing the opportunity for one or two strikes prior to establishment in mid-May and then using glyphosate again as a form of crop destruction in July, says Paul Brown, Frontier seed and crop developments manager.

With early removal of cover crops it might provide an opportunity to carry out such tasks as mole ploughing and general cultivations ready for a great start to next autumn, adds Dave Jones, drainage contractor and Warwickshire farmer.

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