UK spring seed supply under pressure
Spring barley is proving to be in extremely high demand.
We’ve seen a huge increase in spring barley acreage over the past few years on the back of growers looking at cultural control methods for blackgrass.
As it stands this year, with an even higher demand, popular varieties are selling fast and it’s advisable to order sooner rather than later to source your variety of choice.
Very early in the season, UK spring wheat seed were strong. Since then a large amount of seed has been imported from Europe to cope with demand.
If wheat remains the variety of choice, growers may still have the opportunity to drill winter wheat, with some varieties being safe to drill up until the end of February.
If you’re looking to do this, I would advise consulting the AHDB Recommended List to check the safest, latest variety specific sowing dates, and act sooner rather than later.
Growers should not underestimate the place that break crops have within rotations. There are still options in terms of spring oats and spring pulses too, but again there’s pressure on demand.
Jonathan Baxendale is Wynnstay combinable crops manager
