Sugar Beet Growers Weigh Up the Options

Once an arable mainstay, sugar beet faces an uncertain future. Johann Tasker meets a farmer who has decided to stop growing it - and another who will continue

Sugar beet has been grown on Paul Morris's farm in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens for the past 60 years. But after this autumn - for the first time since the 1950s - no beet will be grown at all.

Soil types on the farm at Little Thetford vary from light land to heavy loam. "If everything goes in our favour, we can achieve 70t/ha on isolated fields. But we like to lift in early September on our heavier soils and those fields only average 50t/ha."

year was a disaster - as it was for many beet growers. Poor weather meant the crop of some 80-90ha came out of the ground at less than 34t/ha. But even in a good season, yields have seldom risen above 60t/ha across the farm.

Despite being the farm's most profitable enterprise for decades, its labour intensive nature meant beet was increasingly in the firing line. So did the fact that wheat drilled after late-lifted beet consistently yields 1.24t/ha (0.5t/acre) less grain.

The halcyon days when beet was worth ?40/t are rapidly becoming a distant memory. With beet now worth little more than ?24/t, many growers feel unable to achieve the yields of 70t/ha that would make the crop profitable.

Pure economics, says Mr Morris, are finally forcing him to quit. Last year, he leased out his quota for free so he could fulfil his beet contract while simultaneously ensuring he was entitled to any future compensation for giving it up.

Now, with British Sugar itself giving away quota, Mr Morris can't find any takers. Once the current season's crop comes out of the ground, no more beet will be grown on the farm - either by Mr Morris, or by anyone else.

British Sugar says so far only 11 contracts have been cancelled for 2009, which reflects an ongoing decline in beet growers over the past 20 years. In 1990, more than 10,000 farmers grew beet. For 2009, the company expects to issue 4750 contracts.

Like Mr Morris, many more growers are considering their options as the 15 August deadline nears for the return of 2009 contract offers. Anyone who misses the deadline will see British Sugar reallocate their contract tonnage to other growers.

Source : articlesbase