The uplift in commodity prices has come too late for most of the Tiger Farm’s 2016 harvest, due to storage constraints oilseed rape was moved at harvest for an average price of &285/t (plus oil bonuses).  Values have reached &360/t (excl. oil bonus) in January 2017.

This difference equates to almost &20,000 for Tiger Farm and highlights the need to explore storage options including third party storage.

Average sale prices for Tiger Farm:

As discussed in our Winter update, crop yields down from 7-20% have increased the net unit cost of production and meant that all crops apart from winter wheat have made a loss.

Arable Update 2017 crops

A generally mild and dry winter has meant that crops have grown well through the winter.  Attention turns to planning spring fungicide programmes.  Focusing on wheat programmes the decline in curative efficiency of triazole fungicides on septoria mean that a preventative, protective approach must be taken.  Considering product choice and rates to ensure adequate protection from septoria and rusts are important decisions.  The cost of a four-spray fungicide programme can vary from &90/ha - &140 and more. 

As the results from harvest 2016 have shown, yield can be the dominant factor in determining net unit cost of production so it is important to try to make savings in the right places without compromising output.

Sheep

With ewes lambing in March, they have been pregnancy scanned and housed in advance of lambing.  1.75 lambs sold per ewe mated or higher is considered to be good performance.  A more accurate benchmark is the ration of kg of lamb sold per kg of ewe mated with a ratio of 1:1 the aim.

For more information about our model farm project contact Tom Paybody on 07870 807236 or email here