Less oilseed rape??

[invector]

Two of my farmers have told me they are coming out of oilseed rape for the medium to long term. One said the reason was the Single Farm Payment and the low market price. The other said his spraying inputs are about £60 at the moment but would only be about £3 if he was allowed to grow genetically modified rape. Both farmers grow in excess of 130 acres of OSR each so I suppose pigeon decoying will be a bit thin on their land over the winter period.

 

I`d like to know what the situation is regarding OSR nationally as my other farms are continuing to grow rape as usual.

Edited September 7, 2005 by invector

[henry d]

I n the Sunday Times there was an article on bio fuels made from......wait for it.....oilseed rape and how swathes of the country will be turned over to it.Happy day if you like to spend freezing cold days welded to a seat on the edge of a rape field :yp:

[Teal]

A big company (Biofuels has opened up) which is due to take large amounts of OSR to make biodiesel, production starts in September.

[ernyha]

It was reported on here some time ago that 2 refineries were being set up, in the N/East I believe, near the ports for the purpose of refining oil seed rape into fuel.

 

Whilst this is a good thing in many ways, (cheaper diesel fuel wont be one of them believe me, the taxman will see to that.) how many times have us shooters moaned in the past that there is so much rape about that the pigeons just move to another area as soon as we fire a couple of shots? Even more fields of it and we will be really up against it. :<

[henry d]

Ern... the pigeons will prosper and we`ll get little through the winter but come the peas and laid cereals and the harvest YeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Pigeon heaven ....sorry ....pest control :yp:

[Cranfield]

Speaking to my Farmer friends over the last couple of years, it seems like there is a dilemma for some of them, at the moment.

 

Firstly, the reducing specific subsidy on Rape diminished its attraction as a cash crop and the Single Payment Scheme just about finished it off.

Despite all the stories about alternative fuels etc., the price of Rape seed has fallen again this year.

Also the spraying costs are more expensive, than for almost any other crop.

My friends are small (less than 2000 acres) independent Farmers and are intending to move to other crops, most of which will still attract pigeons.

 

Their view is that the larger "Corporate" Farms will still grow Rape in large acreages.

They use Contractors for the work and the sheer economy of scale will mean that it will be economically viable for them.

 

I agree with Ern, lots of large fields of rape are not good news for (12 month) pigeon shooters.

Although, the last few Winters have seen the birds ignoring the rape in favour of the large berry crops, in my area.

[mossy835]

yes the pigeons did not hit rape this year much where i am better luck this time round i hope.

[Teal]

Ernyha I believe it was me who reported this, here's the company that is doing it: http://www.biofuelscorp.com/project.html . They expect their first factory to be up and running by the end of this month. The second factory will open in 2006. Perhaps in a few years, (and they do intend to expand further) this will raise the price got for rape seed, and farmers who may have moved away will be coming back. We shall have to see when they start taking orders what colour their cash is. :yp:

[Cranfield]

Normally, big Buyers doesn't usually mean big prices to Suppliers.

Tesco, Sainsbury etc are good examples.

[Teal]

If it switches the supply/demand ratio in farmer's favour, which given farmers are allegedly stopping planting it and there is an increased demand, then prices should creep up. Obviously they can always look abroad, so the country is not going to ever be covered in it, but it might have an impact a few years down the line, with farmers going back to it.

[M ROBSON]

We had lots of winter rape this year, maybe a little more than normal, and some of it still gets swathed around here. But there is hardly any spring crop planted this year.

 

It's lead to one of our best month ever in August and so far a pretty poor September, still there's always the beans!

 

Mark.

[Cranfield]

If it switches the supply/demand ratio in farmer's favour, which given farmers are allegedly stopping planting it and there is an increased demand, then prices should creep up. Obviously they can always look abroad, so the country is not going to ever be covered in it, but it might have an impact a few years down the line, with farmers going back to it.

I read somewhere how much rape seed needs to be processed to make a gallon of oil and it was an enormous amount.

I doubt if the UK could grow enough to make it self sufficient, if rape oil ever became a major part of an alternative fuel source.

Importing most of it will probably be the solution, which will will help keep prices low.

[Highlander]

Farmers are always moaning about the price of one thing or another BUT how many do you see getting around on push bikes? :blink: Even those in beat up ol' motors are probably only running it for the benefits of red!

 

In the long term I think we'll see more and more rape being grown especially if the new bio fuels take hold. What that'll do to the price is unknowable but as Ern says you can bet your shirt that it won't make fuel any cheaper thanks to dear ol' Gordon. That WILL have an impact on pigeon shooting for two reasons; they'll have more and more choice of where to feed and for much of the year they won't be on the crop anyway. Basically shooting pigeons on rape will then get more difficult.

[invector]

Highlander I think you ought to look up the average earnings of British farmers over the past several years!!

[Grakers]

At present there is very little rape grown in Northern Ireland, but according to this article from the BBC Northern Ireland website, things is gonna change :-

 

 

Frustrated by falling produce prices, the Ulster Farmers' Union believes fuel production represents a major opportunity for its members.

The union's chief executive, Clarke Black, sees a new role for farmers.

"The technology is being refined and there is no doubt it is possible to grow crops that will produce oil that can be refined into fuel that can run in most cars," he said.

Not far from the farmers' union headquarters on Belfast's Antrim Road, motorists cue for petrol and diesel priced at just under £1 per litre.

Most of the fuel at this forecourt and across the country comes from a volatile Middle East.

But OPEC now has competition from farmers who are quickly developing local oil producing capacity.

Michael Harnett from Waringstown in County Down may seem an unlikely oil prospector, but his oilseed crop is already safely stored in the grain silos which look down on this picturesque farmyard.

Michael Harnett's oilseed crusher is working flat out

Picking up a handful of the black oilseed rape, Michael Harnett explains how a crop grown in nearby fields has the power to drive cars and lorries.

"Oilseed rape is up to 46% oil. That means for every tonne of this oilseed there is almost half a tonne of oil - that's 520 litres from a tonne of seed," he said.

Given current fuel prices, farmers see oilseed crops having the potential to earn up to £1,000 an acre.

Not bad for a crop which can be grown in fields which must be left fallow under EU setaside rules.

Such is the potential of bio-fuel, that Ireland already has one refinery and another is planned.

Mindful though of their experiences with food processors and supermarkets, farmers are getting involved in refining themselves.

Oilseed rape has the power to drive cars and lorries

Michael Harnett's oilseed crusher is working flat out. The oilseed rape is pressed though an extruder which separates the oil from the cake, which then goes for livestock feed.

More than 1,500 tonnes of oilseed rape will be refined on his farm this year.

Farmers are quick to point out that their oil supply is not only environmentally friendly, but renewable too, and this autumn Northern Ireland farmers will plant up to 2,000 acres of fuel-producing crops.

[Highlander]

From the farming press.

 

Oilseed rape prices dipped after harvest following confirmation of a UK crop circa 2 million tonnes, an increase of 30% from the previous year. Since then prices have climbed back to previous levels as the barn doors shut and farmer selling slows. The impact of increased biodiesel production is evidenced by growth in EU rape crushings, which reached 13 million tonnes last year up from 10.8 million tonnes a year earlier. This development is supporting harvest 06 prices which are currently £10 better than this year’s levels.