Bean shortage offers spring opportunities

By Martin Rickatson

25 November 2011

A potentially significant shortfall in the supply/demand situation for winter beans both domestically and further afield could mean spring beans should be a strong contender on farms still deciding upon spring break crops for this season.

While the Scottish spring pulse area is already likely rise given that a wet autumn has prevented many growers from sowing oilseed rape and other winter break crops, English growers who have spring land to sow could also benefit from a drop in the anticipated winter-grown crop available to both the UK and export markets, with many farmers having decided to grow winter rape rather than winter beans, says Tom Nickerson of Ebbage Seeds.

“Production in France looks like being down even further than that in the UK, with the 2011/12 crop anticipated to be around 25 per cent lower than that of 2010/11,” he says. “In both cases, the shortfall will affect all markets, from feed compounders to the export feed trade and the human consumption export sector. That means there could be significant opportunities for spring beans this season.”

Fury breeder LSPB, which is the only company with spring bean types in National List 1 and 2 trials this year, is working particularly on cultivars with low vicin contents, a trait particularly important to feed compunders.