Rotation has proved to be one of the biggest factors impacting tillage yields. The difference between a bad yield, a good yield, an average yield and a great yield can often be attributed to the soil. An active soil comes from a good rotation, the addition of organic manures, crop residues and having living roots in the ground. Break crops can help to improve your soil, with deep roots, chopped stems and a change in activity.

Importantly, crops like oilseed rape and beans offer different methods of weed control, which can help with the control of grass weeds and other herbicide resistant broad-leaved weeds on farms.

Oilseed rape has become a really dependable crop. It was once considered very risky to grow by many farmers and this was with reason. In the past, pod shatter was a big issue for farmers and wind was a concern even from a pod shatter point of view.

Yields were inconsistent for many and less was known about the crop’s management. Now with improved varieties and traits and better management, the crop has become well-liked by many tillage farmers.

From reports received, yields of winter oilseed rape varied in 2026 from about 1.7t/ac to over 2.2t/ac in some cases, all at low moisture contents of about 6-9% on average.

However, that has all changed. Oilseed rape has become extremely resilient. Varieties now have numerous resistance traits that make them more consistent and easier to grow. Pod shatter resistance has been a game changer and is a trait to place high on your list, so that seeds are not lost.

Some varieties have resistance to Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV), phoma or stem canker resistance and clubroot resistance. TuYV can particularly be an issue after mild winters and springs and where crops are near beet. Phoma is more common when crops receive a lot of rain in August and September.

If you have brassica weeds on your farm then Clearfield oilseed rape can be grown as this allows these weeds to be controlled. However, yield is often lower on these varieties, but allows the grower to plant oilseed rape as a break crop and benefit the next crop and weed control.

Some varieties also offer improved performance against sclerotinia, but don’t claim to be completely resistant to it. Sclerotinia can affect the stems and leaves, but mainly stems and can weaken plant stems.

Growers should leave four years between oilseed rape crops and potatoes, peas and beans can also be affected by the disease so having improved resistance to it is a big help.

Don’t tighten your rotation

Oilseed rape has been one of the most successful crops on tillage farms in recent years. Many growers are trying to maximise the crop’s area on the farm because of this, as can be seen from the increase in area this season which hit over 19,000ha.

Suitable weather at sowing time contributed significantly to this increase in area and it was a positive that farmers had the crop this year to improve incomes.

However, it is essential that you are only planting oilseed rape one year in five, or one year in six would even be preferrable. This is to avoid the build up of clubroot in the soil.

To avoid clubroot you should also keep away from brassica catch crops in the soil. If these crops are not in the soil for long then risk can be reduced, but it’s still a risk once there is no full break from a brassica in the rotation.

Some varieties have a trait that brings resistance to clubroot and are a good idea in a high-risk slot.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen fertiliser use efficiency has improved massively on oilseed rape crops thanks to measuring green area index and creating nitrogen maps. Growers can now measure how much nitrogen is needed by simply taking images on their phones. Some varieties also have the N-flex trait which helps to use nitrogen more efficiently. All of this is adding to significant cuts in artificial nitrogen use, improved nitrogen use efficiency and cost savings.

Take-all

Take-all looks to be becoming more common. We’ve seen it hit crops regularly in recent years. While we need break crops, it does bring a risk of take-all to fields, as it can be more of an issue where break crops are being used, so consider a seed treatment to work against it from the second year after a break crop.

Delaying planting can also help to reduce the risk. Rye and oats are other options to reduce take-all risk. So, you could have wheat or barley first after a break crop and then the second crop could be an oat or rye crop.

Latitude seed dressing is also a good idea in the second year after a break crop on winter wheat and winter barley to reduce the risk of take-all, as well as delayed sowing.

What traits can your oilseed rape variety have?

Prices

Looking back at the November price for French oilseed rape over the past year it hovered around €460/t from September 2025. It did dip in January 2026 and hit €437.25/t. However, it went on an upward trend since that time.

It has dropped in recent weeks, but is extremely volatile.

That said, it is volatile in a high price range. On 23 July, that price peaked at €563.50/t and was back down to €520-530/t in recent days.

If you are planting oilseed rape this autumn it might be worth selling a bit. Prices are available from co-ops and will be available from merchants if you call up.

You don’t need to sell a massive amount ahead, but selling a small amount could give you some insurance. Just be sensible about it.

There was a drought this year and yields still did well in places. Think about what your average yield is and what a poor yield would be. Don’t oversell your crop, but maybe sell a bit at a price that allows for a profit.