Farmers from across the UK are seeing success with Merlin spring oats due to the early harvest, high disease resistance, and strong yield potential.

Spring oats have the benefit of 'loosening up' rotations, helping to limit the build-up of disease organisms. Because of their early maturity, Merlin spring oats do well in wetter climates, where early ripening is vital. They also offer good standing, high disease resistance, and low screenings.

Right up in the north of Scotland, Ewan Mackenzie, from W&A Geddes Ltd works with farmers in Caithness. He reports that he has successfully transitioned more than 2/3 of the oat cultivation area in the region to Merlin spring oats, with intentions to convert the entire oat crop to Merlin in the coming years.

"We had 10 farmers growing around 809 hectares of Merlin in 2023, and we saw the best yields that I can remember," says Ewan.

Ewan supplies most of the oats grown in the region to Hamlyns of Scotland, a subsidiary of Morning Foods. "The quality was excellent, with bushel weights at a minimum of 56kg/hl and a maximum of 61.8kg/hl. Yields averaged over 7t/hectare dried. We had a good bold sample with Merlin, it has good disease resistance, and it had fewer screenings than other varieties.

"What we look for in the North of Scotland is good standing and an early harvest and Merlin has these attributes. Going forward it looks to be the variety we will be using," adds Ewan.

Further south in Berkshire, arable farmer, Ed Ryder, took his first Merlin harvest in 2023. "We wanted an alternative spring cropping option to wheat and Merlin yielded at around 5 to 6t/ha on a seed contract to Cope Seeds and Grain," says Ed.

"Some went for milling and the rest for seed, and although the yields suffered with the wet weather, the low inputs meant there was a good margin there," adds Ed.

Hampshire arable farmer, Richard Monk, has been growing Merlin for four years. "We continue to be very pleased with Merlin as the best spring oat available. 2023 harvest is our fourth year of growing Merlin and we grew 70 ha in total.

"It has done well despite a difficult spring growing season. The quality was good, and yields ranged from 6.8 to 8.3 t/ha. I am very happy to continue growing Merlin," he says.

Gemma Clarke at Cope Seeds and Grain is pleased with Merlin's performance. "Merlin is an early variety (-1), it offers a competitive lodging score of 7, and a high rating of 8 for mildew.

"Merlin has low screenings which is a real bonus to the mills and a specific weight above Delfin, Aspen, and Conway. It's this mix of low screenings, good specific weight and kernel content that is generating interest from the millers," adds Gemma.

Please get in contact with Cope Seeds and Grain or your local merchant to discuss growing Merlin spring oats in 2024.