Insight Focus
- Wet weather slows UK beet harvest.
- I’m also concerned about the sucrose content in the beet.
- UK beet price negotiations have resumed.
What’s Happening on The Farm?
There’s not a lot happening on the farm really, except it has rained a lot. This is the wettest autumn we have had in the last 30 years and it’s rained for most of November. And only four weeks ago I was commenting on drought!
The sugar beet harvest is very slow and the lorry queues at the factory have disappeared.
At What Stage Is Your Crop?
Oilseed rape, which we don’t grow anymore, looks like it’s doing very well when I peer over the neighbour’s hedge.
Winter wheat, on light land where there is no black grass, looks good too. But aside from those areas, it looks very bad — worse if a pre-emergence herbicide has been put on.
Sunny sunflowers don’t like wind and rain — or so I have learnt.
And finally, the sugar in the sugar beet is not there. Sun has not permeated the big black clouds that have been hanging over us.
What Big Concerns Do You Have at The Moment?
I am concerned about the future of beet production in the UK.
Everyone puts a Union Jack on sugar nowadays, regardless of where it comes from and some claim “fairtrade” whilst others are “supporting our farmers”.
British Sugar (BS) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) have fallen out over tough negotiations for the beet price for harvest 2024. It’s a bit of a mess; in the past week they have at least resumed talks. Perhaps once the dust has settled and negotiations are complete, I can give a bit more detail on how I see things.
