€380/t oilseed rape contract available for harvest 2018

As harvest ’17 continues to progress, a number of growers have said that oilseed rape will be their top-performing crop this year.

David Shorthall, of Quinns of Baltinglass, said many crops have produced yields of 1.8-2.3t/ac at a moisture content of 9-13%.

“The majority of growers forward sold their oilseed rape to Quinns at prices of €380-390/t; so it’s providing an excellent profit margin per acre.

“This is without accounting for the added potential yield from the following crop,” he said.

In addition, Shorthall said that there’s also higher demand for rape straw this year. This comes as the availability of cereal straw remains low.

In preparation for next year’s harvest, Quinns of Baltinglass is offering a forward contract price for oilseed rape of €380/t delivered at 9% moisture. This contract is available from now until August 25, 2017.

The decision to offer the contract in August comes as many tillage farmers will be selecting crops and varieties in the coming weeks. These choices could have a major bearing on the outcome of harvest ’18.

Recent figures from the Department of Agriculture show that there were 9,790ha of oilseed sown for harvesting in 2017.

The crop is becoming hugely important for the tillage sector and there are a number of reasons why farmers should continue to grow oilseed rape, Shorthall said.

Reasons to grow oilseed rape:

It acts as an effective break to higher-yielding cereal crops;
It provides an opportunity to control resistant grass weeds through alternative chemical control methods;
Early drilling and harvesting helps to spread the overall workload.

Overall, growing oilseed rape provides an opportunity to maximise efficiency on tillage farms. This is hugely important as world grain supplies continue to keep returns reduced.

“We have become increasingly reliant on cereal crops to provide income on tillage farms.

“By growing oilseed rape on your farm, you are reducing your risk exposure to lower grain prices. You are also reducing the weed and disease pressure that would exist in a continuous cereal rotation,” Shorthall said.