Tillage editor Siobhán Walsh tells me oilseed rape looks to have been the stand-out crop of the harvest so far, with most reports of crops yielding close to 2t/ac and many up around 2.3-2.5t/ac. Unfortunately, the area had gone down over the last two years for a number of reasons, but given the early harvest, it looks like a crop that farmers should be trying to plant in the coming weeks.

Varieties look to be more dependable and price has been relatively consistent. With all the cooking oil we import, it would seem sensible for the Department to deep-dive into the viability of a crushing plant as is outlined in the Food Vision Tillage Report.

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