Winter hybrid rye SU Arvid posts excellent harvest results for Norfolk grower seeking higher gas yielding variety for AD contract

       Of the 50,000ha of hybrid rye currently grown in the UK, wholecrop for biogas production is still the biggest single market, accounting for around half the UK crop area confirms Lucy Hopwood, Business Development Director and Lead Consultant for Bioenergy and Anaerobic Digestion (AD) at strategic business consultants NNFCC. https://www.nnfcc.co.uk/

        Lucy, whose areas of responsibility include business planning and strategic advice in acquiring investment support for many AD plants, still sees AD as an important part of the UK’s bioenergy plan with a further 15-20 large scale AD plants expected to become operational by 2025-2026.

          Lucy says” The UK’s AD industry has expanded rapidly from just 3 AD plants in 2003 to 650 operational AD plants as of 2023, driven by government tariffs and a need to increase production of renewable heat, power and transport fuel.

“Although the policy landscape has changed in the last 5 years there is still demand for larger scale, centralised AD plants producing biomethane to decarbonise the gas grid, enabling the UK to meet ambitious renewable energy targets, whilst also improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food sector, including agriculture.

“Whilst policy measures have been introduced to prioritise use of waste, these new AD facilities still benefit from co-digestion of farm sourced feedstock to maintain their operational stability and improve performance, so I can see the cropping area for high energy crops such as hybrid rye and maize continuing to expand as AD capacity continues to grow.

        “There is no silver bullet when it comes to feeding AD, but a stable and secure feedstock supply is fundamental to the success of such plants. As development of larger plants continues, quality feedstock is becoming harder to secure, so a mixed diet of food waste, agri-waste and/or sustainable crops offers a practical, technical, and economically viable solution, mitigating risks and maximising returns.

   “However, the key to growing crops for AD is to ensure they are sustainable, so minimising inputs whilst maximising yields is key. I always advise growers to do what they do best, and to grow the crop that works best for their location, soil type and farming system. In an increasing number of cases now this is hybrid rye, which can be drilled and harvested early, helping to spread the workload on farm, whilst requiring fewer inputs and achieving more consistently high yields than many other crops.” she concludes.

         Farmer Tom Pearson, who manages 1500ha making up part of the Raynham Estate near Fakenham in North Norfolk, supports the NNFCC’s positive outlook for growth in the AD sector and also sees rye as a key crop for energy production.

         The farm has a feedstock agreement to supply a 3.5-megawatt AD plant, and the economic and agronomic benefits of growing good hybrid rye crops are a fundamental way of ensuring that the supply agreement is maintained.

       Tom says” We’ve been growing winter hybrid rye as part of a 7-crop rotation made up of winter wheat, forage maize, sugar beet, spring barley, spring beans and winter oilseed rape since I began working for the estate in 2019. Given the importance of the feedstock supply agreement we are always looking out for new high gas yielding types, and the arrival of SU Arvid on the 2021/22 Descriptive list gave us an excellent opportunity to trial a promising new variety 2 years ago.

            “We don’t grow any second wheats on farm and see winter hybrid rye as a great fit in the rotation as a following crop to our first wheats – and, as an entry into oilseed rape the following year. Hybrid rye is early to drill and early to harvest in late June, so we can then get the digestate on and prepare the soil for early drilled winter rape.

      “On the back of 2 consecutive hot, dry seasons the exceptional drought tolerance of hybrid rye, combined with its early spring vigour, have really come to the fore. Hybrid rye also has good standing ability, although I’d always recommend a robust plant growth regulator (PGR) programme as insurance, given that gathering lodged rye with a whole crop header is often challenging.

              “We’ve grown 160ha of winter hybrid rye this year, 140ha of which was SU Arvid alongside 20ha of our former go-to variety SU Performer. Drilling commenced on September 16^th 2022, at an average seed rate of 205 seeds per M² using a variable seed rate drill. Both varieties performed equally well on both our light sandy loams and heavier silty clay loams, and both established well showing excellent early autumn vigour.

          “On nitrogen inputs we applied a total of 150kg/ha of N in 2 splits, with 70kg/ha of liquid digestate applied in February followed by 80kg/ha of liquid N in late March. On fungicide applications I chose a basic 3-spray program consisting of a Strobilurin, then a Tebuconazole followed by an SDHI based spray. The hybrid rye responded well with just some early signs of yellow rust which the Strobilurin kept at bay. Beyond that, there were no disease issues – and, at less than £90/ha for our fungicide treatments, it’s worth noting that hybrid rye is about half the cost of what we’d normally spend on a first wheat.

        “Harvesting in the last week of June, the SU Arvid crop achieved overall fresh weight yields of 45t/ha adjusted to 35% dry matter (DM) - although on a couple of fields we recorded fresh weight yields of over 50t/ha equating to our best rye yields in over 4 years. On the back of SU Arvid’s performance we will go solely with the variety next year based on its excellent spring vigour, drought tolerance and solid disease resistance ratings.

      “Handling the majority of the farm’s agronomy myself, and having assessed other hybrid rye varieties in trials, I don’t see anything agronomically or economically better than SU Arvid as a wholecrop variety for biogas production right now” he confirms.