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Straws in the Wind

Can OSR still compete?

A particularly noticeable Springtime feature of the rural scene across West Wales over recent years - not to everyone’s liking - has been the brilliantly yellow fields of oil seed rape in full bloom.

This has become a useful break crop for cereal and potato growers who have of necessity, from time to time, to change their cropping patterns.

But NFU plant health expert, Emma Hamer, tells me that all is not well in this sector and poses the question: ‘Can we continue to grow oilseed rape in the UK?’

One of the reasons for this is the low price farmers are currently getting for the harvested crop - in 2011, OSR sold at £400/tonne, but in 2014 the price was down to £250 and at this amount of return it cannot compete with palm oil.

Consequently, there is a high degree of risk involved in taking the decision to grow OSR and often this risk does not pay off as it costs more to grow the crop than is returned when the crop is sold.

However, OSR is seen as a good break crop in a rotation, so farmers are often prepared to make a loss on one crop some years, if it helps reduce disease pressures in a different crop the next year.

Growers tell me that pest control in OSR is also a massive problem -as the acreage grown has increased massively, so have the numbers of cabbage stem flea beetles that feed on it.

Farmers have learnt to deal with these by a number of cultural control methods such as long rotations, early drilling so the plants get away from the pests, good seed beds and chemical sprays. However, much of the chemistry available for beetle control and plant protection in those vital first few weeks of growth have had their use suspended in the UK.

This is a bad thing because OSR fields provide a fantastic habitat for wildlife. The crop hosts numerous species of invertebrates, including honey bees who find the crop very attractive as a source of pollen and nectar. These invertebrates in turn feed songbirds which add to the enhanced biodiversity of UK farmland.

I came to the conclusion that there is no single answer to how OSR can be profitable in this country. It is a combination of a number of factors but just how much longer will farmers have to decide their cropping plan on a throw of the dice, hoping it might come right this year?

So to answer the question ‘can we continue to grow OSR in the UK?’ - I suspect the answer for many well be ‘no.’

In, or out?

One of the hottest topics around at the moment - the upcoming EU referendum - was at the top of the agenda at an FUW meeting earlier this month.

For the Union, Huw Jones said: “This is of course the biggest issue to affect farming since the UK joined the common market in 1973 and one which at this point is surrounded by controversy as to what would happen if the UK left the EU.

“The FUW has made its view very clear - we have huge frustrations over many aspects of the EU, but believe it is in our best interests to remain in and change shortcomings from inside rather than risk being outside. However, contingency plans for a potential Brexit are vital and need to be drawn up quickly.”

The Union continues to press politicians and policy makers on both sides of the fence for facts.

“What people need in order to make an informed choice in June are facts from both sides of the argument which cover a variety of political scenarios.” said Huw.

More doom and gloom!

Farming Unions across the UK are calling for a fairer share of the retail price of beef to be fed down the chain, saying that less than half the retail value of beef is coming back to the farm.

Beef prices have tumbled in recent weeks and the average deadweight price for steers is now 32p per kilo lower than in the same week last year. However, retail prices for beef remain static.

For the week ending February 20, the average deadweight price for steers was 340p per kg. In the same week, in 2015, the price was 372p per kg.

Last spring saw beef prices tumble to a low point of 338p in May and beef producers are calling on the wider supply chain to deliver a fairer share of the margins currently being made on sales of beef to avoid further worrying declines this Spring.

The average retail price of beef, according to AHDB, has been hovering around £7 per kilo for the last six months. That means beef farmers are getting less than half the money that consumers are spending when they buy beef.

Producer Charlie Adam says: “Many shoppers buying quality beef will be surprised to know that more than half the money they are paying is going to retailers and processors and the share going back to the farmer producing the beef is falling.

“This is a worrying start to the year and we do not want to see the price for beef drop any further. There is a justifiable concern amongst farmers that the amount of money being fed down from the consumer isn’t enough - the falling price comes at a time when industry is working hard to bolster sales. QMS is running its Scotch beef promotion during February and March. We hope this will not only stimulate demand for Scotch beef heading into the spring but, more importantly, also build the price going back to farmers.”

Nutritional benefits

Research into the role of dairy products in our diets play an important part in identifying key markets. At the same time, more research is needed into how diets can become more sustainable, as the world’s food supply comes under increasing pressure from population growth, and people in developing countries increase their consumption of meat and dairy products in an effort to emulate Western habits.

In a study by Dr. Ditte Hobbs from the University of Reading on how diets containing different amounts of dairy products compare in terms of their environmental impacts and meeting nutritional requirements looked at four different diets from dairy-free, to low, to high dairy consumption, based on real dietary patterns from the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

As well as looking at the cost and nutritional benefits of these diets, Ms Hobbs modelled their environmental impact using parameters such as land use, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication and acidification potential.

Interestingly, she tells me that she found that high dairy consumers tended to have a healthier diet more generally - except for a cake and biscuit habit. Low dairy consumers ate more processed food and sugary soft drinks.

Meanwhile, those on dairy-free diets seemed to have a similarly healthy diet to high dairy consumers, suggesting they just replaced dairy with alternatives such as soy milk.

The high dairy diet contained more calcium, iodine, vitamin B12, riboflavin and saturated fats while the low dairy diet did not meet some of the government’s recommended requirements for these nutrients, and the dairy-free diet did not meet requirements for either calcium or iodine although many dairy alternatives are fortified and would have been expected to make up these deficiencies.

However, she said research linking sustainability and health is in early stages and more research is needed to find out how to meet nutritional requirements can be met without costing the earth.

She added that over-consumption must be tackled to improve health and ensure adequate food supplies, and that if more sustainable diets were identified, they would need to taste good to encourage people to stick to them.

Focus on children’s health

Children across the EU could soon get the benefit of better-funded school milk, fruit and vegetable schemes, along with better education on healthy eating.

A new draft new law, provisionally agreed with EU ministers some months ago and approved by Parliament recently will merge the separate EU school milk and fruit schemes and boost their combined annual budget by $22m (20m euros) to $274m (250m euros) a year.

Of this amount, $110m (100m euros) is earmarked for the milk program, which was set up in 1977. Member states signing up for this voluntary aid scheme will have to promote more healthy eating habits, local food, organic farming and the fight against food waste.

Children should also be reconnected with agriculture, for example through farm visits.

“A healthy, balanced diet is the foundation of good health, but the consumption of fruit, vegetables and milk has been declining across the EU,” said Marc Tarabella who steered the legislation through the EU parliament.

“This is why it is of the utmost importance to strengthen the school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme by increasing its budget and making it more focused on healthy-eating education. Parliament also ensured the programme’s financial stability, by preventing member states from cutting its budget unilaterally or changing the criteria for allocating EU funds among themselves,” he added.

MEPs amended the list of products eligible for EU funding to ensure that priority is given to under-consumed fresh and local products over processed ones such as yogurts and cheese - the latter can be provided only in addition to milk or lactose-free milk, which take priority, and added sweeteners and artificial flavour enhancers will be excluded.

Worth knowing

It is impossible to lick your elbow - don’t try this at home!

Did you know that if you were to spell out numbers, you would have to go until 1,000 before you would use the letter a.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle’ is the phrase inspired by this practice.