Clover Management Events

Institute of Organic Trainers & Advisers (IOTA) are running two training events focussed on the growing and utilising clovers in the West Midlands. The events are open to all but is discounted for farmers in the West Midlands thanks to RDP West Midlands funding.

Improve your fertility building by learning more about clover use and management.

Click here for more information and for a booking form

Grain Storage Workshop

I recently attended an event run by Agricultural Supply Services at which Ken Wildey spoke about grain conditioning and storage.  Grain storage may not be as exciting to farmers as large shiny machinery that steers itself but keeping grain well and bug free may save you claims, redirection charges and additional cleaning bills of perhaps £20 per tonne and there aren't many tractors that can do that.

Ken is a knowledgeable and entertaining speaker who has worked in both research into grain pests and  commercial storage and grain store management and made the topic interesting and kept things fairly simple.  Below are a few rules of thumb:

Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins are produced by grains as a defence mechanism against infection by moulds.  The greater the incidence of the mould the greater the level of mycotoxin.  There are two major potential problems, the mould species which occur in the field and those which occur in the store.
Those which occur in the field are predominantly caused by Fusarium spp. and produce the Deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin whilst those which occur in store are caused by Pennecillin type moulds and result in zearalenone (ZON) mycotixins.

They are mutually exclusive and so a high field risk mycotixin does not mean there is a high risk of a storage mycotoxin and a low DON risk does not mean that stored grain is at low risk too.  The risk factors associated with DON mycotoxins are reasonably well understood with the biggest hazard being maize in the rotation.  Ploughing helps reduce possible passage from season to season by burying trash and other than that rain at flowering can increase incidence but little can be done about that.  As a consequence DON tends to be regarded as having a seasonal effect and it is seen as being a "bad DON year" if poor climatic conditions occur.

For ZON the easy fix is to ensure grain is stored at below 18% moisture which will cease production of the mould.

Grain Temperature
Grain temperature is important because warm grain has the potential to generate moisture through condensation within the store.  Condensation can create small areas within the store that have a higher moisture content but can be difficult to detect and these can become a source of problems.  Grain should be cooled once in store with an target of a maximum temperature of 15 degrees centigrade within 2 weeks of harvest and a maximum temperature of 10 degrees centigrade four weeks later.

Provided air is cooler than the grain it will cool the grain and moist air is unlikely to make grain damp provided the air temperature is below the temperature of the grain as the air will warm as it passes through the grain and warm air can hold more water than cold air.  Therefore the air entering the grain is likely to be dryer than the air leaving the grain.  However, be aware that fans can raise the temperature of air by 2.5 degrees centigrade and reduces the relative humidity.

Storage Pests
Storage pests are sub tropical in origin and don't like cool temperatures which is another good reason to cool grain.
Sawtooth Grain Beetle will complete its lifecycle every 28 days but cannot do so at temperatures below 15 degrees centigrade.
Grain Weevil will take 4 - 5 months to complete its lifecycle at 15 degrees centigrade and will fail to do so at temperatures below 10 degrees centigrade.

Wild thoughts and wild oats

We had a Board meeting yesterday and John Pawsey and Lawrence Woodward have agreed to contribute to our blog which is exciting.  Look out for their posts!

Also had a very interesting conversation with Adrian Steele and John Pawsey about Wild Oat control.  They both have some interesting experience and comments about the subject.  Hand Up if you'd like to know more and I'll work out how best to share their knowledge.

Where are organic grain prices headed?

I was asked an impossible question last week by someone doing a budget to rent some additional land . "What will the organic feed wheat price will be in 2012?"  As I don't know what it will be in Nov 2011 this was a tall order.


We have a guide as to what the conventional wheat market will be from the wheat futures prices which are available for Nov 2012 so can we work something based on this?  Below is my reply to the email.  

Historically the organic value has been roughly twice the conventional market but I don't feel that is a trend that will be continued given the strength of conventional grain prices and so perhaps we need a new rule of thumb to work on.  I believe there is significant demand side price in-elasticity at the moment and high prices could significantly reduce demand.  Given this can we continue to expect a premium of twice the organic price?  No. 

If we assume organic yields are 60% of conventional yields the market should pay the conventional price divided  by 0.6.  According to the futures market Nov 2012 wheat is £153.50.  Knock of the transaction charge for the futures of about £5 and we have a delivered price of £148.50 divide this by 0.6 and we have a price of £247.50.  From this point we have to then look at pricing the fertility building phase of the rotation.  This would indicate a figure higher than £247.50.  However ....  Now comes the less positive bit. 

A reasonably accurately calculated Cost of Production figure comes out at just under £200 and so it could be argued that you could sell below £247.50 and be profitable and some will I'm sure. 
Where is organic demand heading?  The Soil Association Market Report 2011 which was published recently suggests continued pressure in the market; only Waitrose and M&S anticipating growth and others multiples seeing the market as static.  The bakery and breakfast cereal segments (sorry horrid marketing jargon) saw significant falls in sales.  The livestock producers I speak to are suggesting that prices above £250 are difficult to live with.

Looking at it from both the production and the demand side there seems to be a convergence at a figure £240 - £250.

Perhaps the question should be reversed.  With conventional wheat at £148.50 and organic wheat at £247.50 which would you grow?  Looking at the sensitivity of this price how much would each have to move to get you to reverse that decision?

Do you agree?   I'd welcome your comments.

Danes continue to see their organic market growing

The Danes continue to see increases in the sale of organic food despite these straitened economic times.  As our domestic market feels the pinch it seems the Danes have effectively positioned the "organic label" as the short-cut for the values demanded by the time-poor, conscientious consumer.  If the "Love Organic" campaign can do the same for the domestic market we will hopefully see greater loyalty from the UK organic consumer.

45 % of Danes already buy organics every week, and 70 % buy them at least once a month, a recent study of the market research company GfK has revealed. "We see that the Danes are increasingly interested in buying products that meet their demands for clean and healthy food," says Henrik Hindborg, Marketing Manager at Organic Denmark. In 2010, Danes bought organic products worth DKK 6.7 billion (close to 900 million euros) - equal to a consumption of approx. DKK 1,200 (about 160 euros) per capita and a doubling on 2006. This makes Denmark the country in the world with the highest spending on organics once again.  Consumers in Denmark are even becoming more health-conscious, and many Danes still plan to increase their wholesome purchases, a new FDB survey has revealed. The high demand of organics is due to various reasons: consumers are more and more concerned about harmful substances, and they buy organics for more household members. Matters like the environment and climate also become increasingly important when they shop. A further reason is that the offer of organic products is increasing, according to Thomas Roland of FDB.   Organic flour, muesli and pasta are highly demanded, as well as fruit and vegetables. Even products such as wine, cheese and desserts have grown significantly. The FDB survey also indicates that there is an increasing need to guide consumers through the "food jungle", as requirements of conscious consumers have grown. The organic label is considered to be a safe guideline that helps consumers and saves them time. Time-pressed families especially appreciate this label, as organic regulations are comprehensive and well thought out. 

Organic Denmark (it may need translating)

Ever wondered how much energy was in your grain store?

The grain we grow converts solar energy into chemical energy which is then digested to feed livestock or humans.  But what does that energy look like?  Watch this clip to see how much energy a bowl of cereal contains - it's surprising.

Please don't try this at home or near your grain store!

BBC News - How much energy is there in breakfast cereal?

New Seed Testing Service Launched

In association with Suffolk Seed Laboratories we are now offering a comprehensive and competitive seed testing service.  This allows organic farmers to be confident that the home-saved seed they are using is of good quality and will perform without problems of low germination or seedling blight.

For more information and to see the pricing for this service please click here.