Sugar Beet

With British Sugar recently announcing their factory opening dates, many farmers and haulage companies are preparing to transport sugar beet to the factories this autumn. Keeping farmers and industry workers safe is a key topic right now, here are some important things to consider regarding vehicle load safety and security.

British Sugar has announced this autumn’s factory start dates for its 2023/24 sugar beet processing campaign.

Following reports of peach-potato aphids caught in traps across the sugar beet growing area, farmers are being advised to monitor aphid numbers closely and treat non-Cruiser protected crops with a foliar insecticide as soon as thresholds are met.

Farmers who have become used to drilling sugar beet in March have had to readjust this spring. The wettest March for 40 years delayed sugar beet drilling well into April on all but the lightest land. Growers must adapt their herbicide programmes accordingly, urges crop protection manufacturer UPL.

Defra has approved an emergency temporary authorisation for the use of a neonicotinoid pesticide treatment to this year’s sugar beet crop, due to the risk from yellows viruses.

As temperatures start to climb again with warnings of an August heatwave, interim results from this season’s Quantis sugar beet trials indicate the biostimulant treatments are helping crops to better cope with adverse effects of heat.

Sencrop has worked with the British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO) to develop an agronomic indicator for Cercospora in sugar beet which is now being widely used.

NFU Sugar and British Sugar have announced a beet price of £40 per tonne for the 2023/24 sugar beet contract year, which represents a 48% price increase on last year.

Spring husbandry can provide both value and diversity within a rotation, often demonstrate lower yield variability and can show a better return than their autumn counterparts per £1 spent – although they often struggle to match the best gross margins. But which spring cropping option to choose? Rachel Hicks writes.

British Sugar is inviting sugar beet growers to produce additional tonnes in 2022 at a fixed price of £27/t; a 33% increase on the previous year’s contract price. Farmers interested in growing beet are also welcome to apply for their own contract or explore other growing options on offer.

NFU Sugar and British Sugar have today announced a one-year sugar beet contract from 2022, including the continuation of the Virus Yellows assurance scheme and the futures-linked contract.

Stewardship guidelines aimed at protecting workers hand-pulling bolters and weed beet from sugar beet crops were introduced by Bayer in 2018 with the intention of promoting product stewardship and operator safety.