Barenbrug Grower Update
Barenbrug Grower Update
Richard's Ruminations
Welcome! Firstly, Happy New Year to you all! We wish you and your families a prosperous and healthy 2023.
2023 is off to a great start. Crop entries for harvest 2023 were completed in December, ahead of the APHA price increase for crop entries which came into effect on the 9th January. For Harvest 2023 Barenbrug UK has entered 2,800 ha of UK grown herbage crops with APHA which is great news for UK seed production.
Crop cleaning continues at a pace, and at the time of writing we have cleaned nearly 2,000 tons of seed since cleaning began in July. Seed yields and quality continue to impress with most crops producing good bold samples.
Mixing at our facilities in Bury St Edmunds, Falkirk and Armagh is in full swing in readiness for the spring sales period.
Market conditions are much the same as back in October when I last wrote. Consumption in the USA is below average, which is leading to stocks building whilst in Europe sales have been below expectations apart from in France where good sales have been achieved. In Germany prices are weakening due to higher-than-normal stock levels.
I am pleased to communicate that Barenbrug UK will be increasing the grower prices paid in the January payment by 5% across all species. I would like to thank all of you, our growers, for your continued support and commitment and look forward to harvest 2023.
And finally……well done to Rosie Wright and Sebastian Blanch for passing their ISTA Seed Samplers Training Course in December! This will allow greater flexibility in sampling seed lots due to be exported outside of the UK.
Richard Turner
An interview with a grower
We take a deep dive into one of the farming enterprise for this new series, an interview with a grower. This issue we catch-up with Andrew Stovin.
For more than 50 years, the Stovin family has found a place in the arable rotation to grow grass for seed. Located on the east coast of Lincolnshire, between Louth and Alford, seed crops currently account for about 160 ha of NM Stovin Farms’ 500ha total. One of around 50 growers supplying grass seed to Barenbrug UK, it’s one of the company’s larger producers – growing not just the agricultural varieties that will be sown for grazing or silage but also the amenity seed that constitutes the hallowed turf of legendary sporting venues such as St Andrews, Elland Road and Queen’s.
Barenbrug Grass Genetics
Breeding and technology is the life-blood of our business and our brand. Developing grasses and forage legumes is at the heart of what we do, and we continually focus on offering our customers maximum added value, never resting in our search for innovation.
Our R&D team focuses on our customers’ needs, tied to our commitment to total product satisfaction and customer centricity. Our innovations are tested and supported by numerous official trials, and we reach top positions across the world on recommended variety lists. In other words: if we claim it, we deliver it.
The Story of Grass, the breeding and commercialisation of a new grass cultivar, is a long and challenging business. Find out how the 15-year process of bringing new grass varieties to British farms, greens and pitches works.
