ARABLE 39
• FEB / MAR 2018
Beet with AD potential fares well in UK trials
NEW varieties of high dry matter energy-dense beet now available in the UK are making the crop more viable as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion ( AD ).
So says Francis Dunne of Field Options , who points to the latest UK trials where new varieties have excelled and demonstrated their potential for the renewable energy sector .
Independent fodder beet trials carried out in Cambridgeshire in 2017 compared the performance of 14 leading varieties from five different breeders , encompassing the full range of beet types from low dry matter ( fodder beet for grazing ) through to very high dry matter types .
“ Clean lifting , very high dry matter beet is one of the most efficient feedstocks available for AD ,” says Francis Dunne . “ Optimising yield of the crop further increases gas yield per hectare .”
Field Options provides expertise and access to varieties across the full range of beet , from low dry matter fodder beet for grazing through to very high dry matter energy beet for both livestock feed and AD plants .
Environmental policy and food production must go hand in hand
ARABLE 39
Farming and the environment must go together and producing quality , home-grown food is critical to the future of the country , the NFU said today .
IT follows publication of the Government ’ s 25-year Environmental Plan . Theresa May revealed details of the long-awaited and wide-ranging 150-page strategy during a keynote speech in south-west London .
Farmers manage 70 % of the nation ’ s iconic countryside and take their environmental responsibilities seriously . 10,000 football pitches worth of flower habitat , creating homes for wildlife , have been planted while more than 30,000km of hedgerows have been planted or restored by farmers .
The NFU says farming is in a unique position to deliver for the environment as long as there are productive and viable businesses – where food is at the heart .
NFU Vice President Guy Smith said : “ Over the past four decades , farmers have carried out a huge amount of work to encourage wildlife , as well as benefitting the landscape , soil and water and reducing their impact on the climate .
“ Farming also offers innovative solutions to wider environmental challenges .
“ But there must be a coherent approach . British farming has a unique role in producing a safe , affordable and high quality supply of food as well as protecting , maintaining and enhancing 70 % of the nation ’ s iconic countryside .
“ That only remains feasible , however , as long as farmers run sustainable and viable businesses . We provide the raw materials for a domestic food industry that employs 3.8m people and which , as the UK ’ s largest manufacturing sector , generates £ 112bn in value for the UK economy . .
“ It ’ s vital therefore that a holistic approach is taken and the environment plan must go hand-in-hand with a future food policy , where measures for protecting and enhancing the environment are joined up with policies to improve productivity and manage volatility to ensure that we have profitable , productive and progressive farm businesses post-Brexit .”
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