With tight forage supplies this year, demand for beet is expected to be high.
While some farmers have been looking for beet as early as September, the harvest for the majority of growers has yet to begin.
The entire beet area this year increased to just under 10,000ha, a 7.2% rise compared to 2023.
Most of this increase is attributed to fodder beet, while sugar beet remained steady at around 600ha. We caught up with a number of agronomists to see how the crop was looking ahead of the harvest season.
On the ground
Dave Barry, who manages the grass and forage crop seed business at Goldcrop, said that this year’s beet crop will likely still do well but will be behind compared to the previous few years. A late spring, followed by a cooler-than-normal summer, has meant that crops are around three weeks behind.
Dave Barry.
Weed control has been good this year, as dry conditions did not pose problems for residual herbicides, he said. He hasn’t noticed a significant amount of virus activity this year, just sporadic patches. However, with the loss of key seed dressings, the threat of viruses from aphids will always be a concern during the growing season.
He said that very few have begun harvesting yet, and those who have are feeding the crop straight away.
Yields are down accordingly.
Ned Kehoe, business manager for DLF Seeds covering the east and south, said that crops are looking good. He said that only a handful of farmers have started lifting beet, and they are using it to supplement grass supplies.
While crops were sown later, and growth during key months was delayed, disease pressure has been low and weed control has been very good. However, he did see some virus in crops this year.
Ned said that more farmers are selecting varieties based on traits suited to specific fields and markets, with a focus on early varieties to target the early market. Although it’s still early days, he thinks yields will be reasonable.
As it is early yet, there is no indication of where beet price will land this year, however.
Ned Keogh.
Weed control
Weed control, in general, seems to have been good this year, but growers are concerned about the 2025 season, as a key component of their weed control programme, the herbicide Debut, will no longer be available from next season onwards. This will make weed management considerably more challenging.
Despite new varieties and innovations coming on stream, including potentially another new Conviso Smart variety, the loss of another key active ingredient will add yet another layer of complexity and cost for beet growers.
There is an emerging market for beet in Ireland, and some crops planted in 2025 will be destined for it.
Currently, there are 18 anaerobic digestion (AD) projects which have secured and accepted funding from the Department of Agriculture. Under the terms of the scheme, they must be built and capable of producing biomethane by the end of next year or face fines, according to the SEAI.
Many new AD plants will be seeking beet as feedstock.
Contained in the planning applications for some of these AD projects are lists of feedstocks, and beet features prominently on a number of them.
Beet is a commonly used feedstock for AD plants across Europe and this marks a new market opportunity for the crop in Ireland. While the initial volume won’t be massive, many more plants are in various stages of development and will be seeking beet as a feedstock.
A key selling point of the AD industry is that it should allow growers to secure multi-annual feedstock contracts. This may help farmers in making business decisions, as they will know they have a guaranteed market for their crop. There will also be a plentiful supply of digestate to feed the crops.
Price the big unknown
Of course, the big unknown is the price. While the rhetoric we often hear from ministers is that the AD sector will provide a profitable new market for crops, the reality is that we have no idea yet how much AD plants will pay for feedstock.
However, given the structure of the contracts being proposed, and the fact that most plants will likely not be able to secure funding without feedstock contracts in place, the price range for crops such as beet and grass will be set before farmers agree to plant.
Time will tell, but we expect to get an indication of this by late 2025.
Beet area is up 7.2% this year.A late spring and tough growing year means crops are three weeks behind.Demand is expected to be high this year as fodder supplies remain tight.
With tight forage supplies this year, demand for beet is expected to be high.
While some farmers have been looking for beet as early as September, the harvest for the majority of growers has yet to begin.
The entire beet area this year increased to just under 10,000ha, a 7.2% rise compared to 2023.
Most of this increase is attributed to fodder beet, while sugar beet remained steady at around 600ha. We caught up with a number of agronomists to see how the crop was looking ahead of the harvest season.
On the ground
Dave Barry, who manages the grass and forage crop seed business at Goldcrop, said that this year’s beet crop will likely still do well but will be behind compared to the previous few years. A late spring, followed by a cooler-than-normal summer, has meant that crops are around three weeks behind.
Dave Barry.
Weed control has been good this year, as dry conditions did not pose problems for residual herbicides, he said. He hasn’t noticed a significant amount of virus activity this year, just sporadic patches. However, with the loss of key seed dressings, the threat of viruses from aphids will always be a concern during the growing season.
He said that very few have begun harvesting yet, and those who have are feeding the crop straight away.
Yields are down accordingly.
Ned Kehoe, business manager for DLF Seeds covering the east and south, said that crops are looking good. He said that only a handful of farmers have started lifting beet, and they are using it to supplement grass supplies.
While crops were sown later, and growth during key months was delayed, disease pressure has been low and weed control has been very good. However, he did see some virus in crops this year.
Ned said that more farmers are selecting varieties based on traits suited to specific fields and markets, with a focus on early varieties to target the early market. Although it’s still early days, he thinks yields will be reasonable.
As it is early yet, there is no indication of where beet price will land this year, however.
Ned Keogh.
Weed control
Weed control, in general, seems to have been good this year, but growers are concerned about the 2025 season, as a key component of their weed control programme, the herbicide Debut, will no longer be available from next season onwards. This will make weed management considerably more challenging.
Despite new varieties and innovations coming on stream, including potentially another new Conviso Smart variety, the loss of another key active ingredient will add yet another layer of complexity and cost for beet growers.
There is an emerging market for beet in Ireland, and some crops planted in 2025 will be destined for it.
Currently, there are 18 anaerobic digestion (AD) projects which have secured and accepted funding from the Department of Agriculture. Under the terms of the scheme, they must be built and capable of producing biomethane by the end of next year or face fines, according to the SEAI.
Many new AD plants will be seeking beet as feedstock.
Contained in the planning applications for some of these AD projects are lists of feedstocks, and beet features prominently on a number of them.
Beet is a commonly used feedstock for AD plants across Europe and this marks a new market opportunity for the crop in Ireland. While the initial volume won’t be massive, many more plants are in various stages of development and will be seeking beet as a feedstock.
A key selling point of the AD industry is that it should allow growers to secure multi-annual feedstock contracts. This may help farmers in making business decisions, as they will know they have a guaranteed market for their crop. There will also be a plentiful supply of digestate to feed the crops.
Price the big unknown
Of course, the big unknown is the price. While the rhetoric we often hear from ministers is that the AD sector will provide a profitable new market for crops, the reality is that we have no idea yet how much AD plants will pay for feedstock.
However, given the structure of the contracts being proposed, and the fact that most plants will likely not be able to secure funding without feedstock contracts in place, the price range for crops such as beet and grass will be set before farmers agree to plant.
Time will tell, but we expect to get an indication of this by late 2025.
Beet area is up 7.2% this year.A late spring and tough growing year means crops are three weeks behind.Demand is expected to be high this year as fodder supplies remain tight.
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