Growers urged to rethink break crops as linseed prices top £500/t

Mounting pressure on oilseed rape profitability is driving renewed interest in winter linseed, as growers battle rising input costs, volatile margins and ongoing cabbage stem flea beetle pressure.

Specialist seed supplier Premium Crops believes a combination of stronger contract prices, lower nitrogen requirements and improved variety performance is helping position winter linseed as a more attractive break crop option for UK arable farms.

The company will use this year’s Cereals event to promote its winter linseed variety, Attila, alongside new contracts offering minimum values above £500/t.

Nigel Padbury, Seeds and Marketing Manager at Premium Crops, said several market and agronomic factors were now aligning in the crop’s favour.

“It’s a convergence of market forces, agronomic advances and farmer experience that have created this moment,” he said.

“From the stubborn flea beetle risk in OSR, to a contract value of over £500/t for linseed, the case for making the switch is hard to ignore.”

Oilseed rape is currently trading at around £425/t, while cabbage stem flea beetle continues to create uncertainty for growers ahead of drilling.

Reports this spring suggest some oilseed rape crops drilled between mid-August and mid-September last year are carrying between 20 and 30 flea beetle larvae per stem.

Nigel Padbury warned prolonged dry weather could quickly cause flea beetle-damaged crops to “curl up and die”.

The unpredictability of adult flea beetle migration is also forcing some growers to spread drilling dates in an attempt to manage risk.

Agronomists say winter linseed avoids several of the agronomic challenges that continue to affect oilseed rape production.

“Winter linseed sidesteps many of the disease pressures that have made OSR so difficult to manage,” said Premium Crops agronomist Hannah Foxall.

“It’s unaffected by CSFB, removing one of the most significant and costly threats facing oilseed rape crops today.”

The crop’s lower nitrogen requirement is also becoming increasingly attractive as fertiliser prices remain elevated.

According to the AHDB fertiliser tracker, ammonium nitrate prices have risen above £525/t following recent instability in the Middle East.

Winter linseed typically requires between 80kg and 120kg of nitrogen per hectare, compared with around 190kg to 200kg for oilseed rape.

Premium Crops estimates growers could save around £150/ha in nitrogen costs alone.

“It’s not just about the contract price or margin achieved on the crop,” Nigel Padbury said.

“Winter linseed has other benefits for cash flow across the farm because of the significant savings that can be made on nitrogen.”

Historically, some growers have remained cautious about winter linseed because of concerns around harvest management, crop height and its relatively niche market position.

However, Premium Crops believes newer varieties are helping to change perceptions.

The company said Attila has consistently delivered yields of 3t/ha or more during Scottish Agronomy trials over the past three seasons, including under difficult weather conditions.

Farmer Iain Grant, who grows the variety near Elgin in Moray, said the crop had performed well through both wet and dry periods.

“The crop went into winter strong,” he said.

“It proved it can stand a wet winter better than rape and wasn't too bothered by birds.”

He added that the crop harvested cleanly despite drought conditions during the previous season.

“This isn’t the same stuff we grew in the 1980s for subsidies,” he said.

“As long as it doesn’t stand too long after spraying off, or get too tall, it goes through the combine just fine.”

Beyond crop margins, Premium Crops said linseed can also provide rotational advantages for following wheat crops through improved soil structure and lower slug pressure.

Hannah Foxall said the crop’s wider agronomic benefits are becoming increasingly important within modern rotations.

“There’s a reason linseed is included in cover crop mixes,” she said.

“It is because it has recognised soil health benefits and has wider benefits to the rotation as a whole.”

Premium Crops will exhibit at stand 942 during this year’s Cereals event, where it plans to discuss contract opportunities, crop performance and farm economics with growers.

With oilseed rape margins remaining under pressure, winter linseed is increasingly being viewed by some arable farmers as a viable alternative within modern crop rotations.