The Farmers Mart Apr/May 2016 - Issue 45 | Page 64

Dairy & Cattle

BURNING STRAW
TO INCREASE
YOUR WHEAT
PROFIT MARGINS
First step towards
industry-led
guidance on farm
animal welfare
»»GUIDANCE ON A RANGE OF
farm animal welfare codes
is to be devolved to industry
groups under a government
move towards deregulated
standards.
Defra secretary Liz Truss is
overseeing the plans as part of
her department’s move towards
the creation of “industry-led
guidance” on animal welfare
codes.
The first step will saw a
transfer of the code on chicken
farming to the poultry industry
on 27 April, which is when the
British Poultry Council (BPC)
released guidelines. From then
on it will be in charge of writing
new animal welfare guidance.
Defra said it would also begin
work to deregulate guidance in
other livestock sectors, including
the pig, cattle and sheep
farming industries.
A Defra spokesman said: “No
changes are being made to farm
animal welfare legislation or the
strict enforcement and penalties
that apply. Instead, the British
Poultry Council has produced
non-statutory guidance on how
to comply with the legislation.
“The industry-led guidance
can also be used as evidence in
court to prove criminal liability
and will ensure farmers have the
most up-to-date and practical
information.”

In a statement, the BPC
said: “Without this change in
Defra policy a large number of
statutory codes would never be
reviewed.
BPC chairman John Reed
said: “We were determined
to ensure that we protected
the integrity of the code. It
was critical for the BPC to
achieve the endorsement from
Defra to ensure its credibility
and acceptance by charities,
retailers and the industry itself.
“A robust review procedure
will be put in place to ensure
that the requirements in the
code are kept up to date
with any new legislation and
research.”
The BPC said it also planned
to review and update the duck
and turkey codes in 2017.
But the government’s shift
towards deregulation has come
under fire from shadow Defra
minister, Kerry McCarthy.
Ms McCarthy, Labour MP for
Bristol East, said: “Abandoning
codes of practice for farm
animal welfare is not in the
best interests of the animals
and will not produce higherquality food. In the wake of
food scandals from horsemeat
to campylobacter, scrapping
government standards risks
undermining public confidence
in the food we buy.”

64 Apr/May 2016 www.farmers-mart.co.uk

»»WHEAT PRICES WERE ON
a downward trend
throughout 2015 and early
2016, reaching a six-year low
at the end of February.
HOW DOES RHI STRAW
BURNING STACK UP?
RHI (Renewable Heat
Incentive) is a government
incentive to reduce the UK’s
carbon footprint by removing
our dependency on carbon
fuels for the production
of heat. Once signed up
to the RHI incentive, the
payments are index-linked
and guaranteed for the next
20 years.
The mid-range RHI
incentive is currently
paying 5.24p per kWh of
heat produced. The annual
contribution from a biomass
boiler is calculated by
multiplying the size of the
boiler (in kWh) by 1,314. This
figure is then multiplied by
the RHI payment level.
For example, a 600kWh
straw-burning boiler is
capable of generating
788,400 kWh equating to
£41,312 per year. To generate
this level of heat requires
approximately 250 tonnes of
straw. By burning your straw
through our RHI approved
Straw Biomass Boiler you
will increase its value from
£36/tonne to £162.65/
tonne, drying your grain and
heating your property in the
process.
But this is only stage one.
The other major benefit
comes from the production
of 789,600kWh of heat.
Even taking into account the

current low price of heating
oil (2.8p/Kwh), generating
this amount of heat from
straw could save you in the
region of £22,108 of heating
oil costs.
IMPRESSIVE RETURNS
To summarise, by burning
250 tonnes of straw you
gain a gross return of
£62,772. 250 tonnes of
straw (at a retail value of
£36/tonne) represents
a book value of £9,000
which gives a net profit
contribution of £53,772.
For example, take 1,000
acres of arable land yielding
3.5tonnes/acre - giving a
total yield of 3,500 tonnes of
wheat. With the contribution
from straw burning you
could increased your net
profit margin by £15.36/
tonne.
There is little doubt with
the RHI incentive, we believe
that straw burning boilers
have become as essential
to an arable farmer as his
combine harvester. A typical
installation will pay for itself
in 3.5 years, securing a
£50,172 index-linked profit
contribution for 20 years.
For more information our
video is a ‘must’ watch and
with over 1,700 views to date,
this clearly demonstrates the
level of interest far-sighted
farmers are showing in our
Straw Burning Boiler.
To view video:
http://www.farm-power.
com/Biomass_boilers.
html or visit http://www.
gfpbiomassheating.co.uk