Growers’ options for Spring drilling are rapidly running out with only limited stocks of Spring Malting Barley left, says Nidera UK’s Seeds Manager Russell Frost.

“We still have Tipple and Propino Spring Barley available but virtually everything else has gone now. Spring wheat, oilseed rape and beans are sold out and producers face making some very difficult decisions early in the New Year,” he says.

“There are real concerns about the viability of much of the oilseed rape sown due to the continuing wet weather and although we knew of people still drilling wheat in December, there is still a lot of land left undrilled.

Many producers will face either taking on board crops and husbandry they are not familiar with next year or risk buying imported seed of unknown quality, Russell Frost says.

“There will be some good imported seed but there is a danger that much of it will be of low quality so growers will have to be extremely vigilant.

“Our advice would be if you know of good seed now, buy it! Even if things work out better than they might look now, there will be such a shortage of high quality material you will easily be able to trade it on.”