| Arable
Richardson Milling eyes spring oat rewards
Richardson Milling (UK) ltd, the Canadian conglomerate that bought Bedford-based European Oat Millers earlier this
year, is seeking growers of good quality spring oats as consumer demand continues to grow.
upply for the human
consumption market is
currently dominated by the
winter variety Mascani, but after
a successful first year of trials
with the spring oat variety, WPB
Elyann, Richardson Milling has tapped the
growing interest in spring crops by offering
contracts for the 2018 harvest.
Brin Hughes, the firm’s agronomy manager,
says interest in WPB Elyann improved after a
positive on-farm results in 2017 and better than
S
average hulling losses for a spring variety. This
was further supported with seed rate and
fertiliser trials performed in conjunction with
KWS demonstrating that competitive yields
could be produced with good hullabillity and
without excessive screenings.
“WPB Elyann is the only spring oat we have
tested with hulling losses consistently lower
than the 30% desired limit. We already knew it
had the necessary kernel content, but hullability
is the most important factor determining a
variety’s suitability for milling for human
consumption and we are pleased with the
commercial samples we have seen so far from
harvest 2017,” says Brin Hughes.
“Our first commercial crop, grown on light soils
outside Cambridge in 2017, produced an
average yield of 6.88t/ha with screenings of
4.6% and we believe there is scope to improve
on these figures further as future trials continue
to examine fertiliser timings and seed rates,” he
adds.
Map of Agriculture merges with Precision Prospecting
Map of Agriculture, a leading provider of insight and knowledge to Farmers, AgProfessionals and AgBusinesses, has
completed its merger with Precision Prospecting.
stablished in 1993, Precision
Prospecting is a pioneer in
agricultural market research
and industry information. Their
comprehensive range of
services is supported with
independent and continuously updated insight
on over 74,000 farms.
The Precision Prospecting team brings a
wealth of knowledge, talent and experience
adding around 50 professionals to the global
Map of Agriculture team.
By combining both Precision Prospecting
and Map of Agriculture specialist teams, along
with considerable investment in innovation,
Map of Agriculture is excited about the added
value this merger will bring to its platforms and
portfolio of services.
Map of Agriculture CEO Forbes Elworthy
said “Our purpose is to empower Farmers,
AgProfessionals and AgBusinesses to make
better data-driven decisions. Precision
Prospecting’s industry knowledge and
expertise in market research is key to achieving
this.”
Jim Williams, Managing Director for
Precision Prospecting added, “This is a very
exciting time for our company and clients.
Whilst we will continue to provide our existing
suite of services, joining Map of Agriculture has
allowed us to expand our global territories into
Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.”
Founded in 2012 by New Zealand farmer,
Forbes Elworthy, Map of Agriculture is a
pioneer in agricultural analytics and modelling
technology. They have offices in the UK,
Argentina and New Zealand.
E
16 | Farming Monthly | January 2018
RAGT targets Scotland’s key spring
barley market
Scotland’s cereal sector may be small but it is a key target for plant
breeders who value the long life that varieties have, thanks to a unique mix
of grower expertise and market pull.
peaking at a recent briefing in
Edinburgh, Simon Howell,
managing director of RAGT
Seeds, said plant breeding
companies needed
commercial longevity in their
varieties to help fund research and
development of new material.
Although Scotland’s cereal area is relatively
small, accounting for about 460,000ha of the
UK’s 3.1m ha total, varieties tend to have a
longer lifespan than the three to four years
typically seen south of the border.
Concerto spring barley, for example, was
recommended in 2009 but remains a firm
favourite among growers, as does soft wheat
Leeds, recommended in 2014.
“if you can get a variety established in
Scotland it is likely to be around a lot longer.
Once farmers are confident in a variety’s
genetics, they trust that variety,” said Mr
Howell.
“To break into the Scottish spring barley
market, we have to find varieties that deliver
high yields but with Concerto’s quality. As
S
breeders, we are all striving for that quality –
farmers need varieties that can have a ready-
made home.”
A newly recommended spring barley from
RAGT could fit the bill, said Mr Howell. RGT
Asteroid is creating strong interest in the
seed trade and among end users in
Scotland, and is under test for malt and grain
distilling as well as brewing.
This, makes it the only variety on the 2018 RL
with the potential to suit all three end
markets, said Mr Howell.
Th e variety is not the highest yielding on the
list, but is 9 points ahead of long-standing
favourite Concerto and close to Laureate, the
two varieties that will take most of the malt
distilling barley area this season.
“Like Concerto, RGT Asteroid produces good
quality grain with a high hot water extract, but
delivers significantly higher yields in the
field,” said Mr Howell.
Distillers will carry out micro-tests on grain
harvested in 2018, with results expected in
spring 2019.
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