Category: Arable

The sugar beet harvest for the 2024 crop has proved a little disappointing.  The average adjusted yield for the 2024/25 season is around 76.5 tonnes per Ha.  Clean yields were down due to the poor planting conditions last spring – especially in the Midlands.  This was partly offset by higher sugar content.  The result does not look too bad compared to the 7-year average adjusted yield of 74.3 tonnes per Ha – but this includes the two very poor years of 2020 and 2022.   The sector should be targeting an average much nearer 80 t per Ha.

Defra has published its first Pesticides National Action Plan in a decade.  It has been developed in partnership between Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.  The National Action Plan (NAP) aims to promote the sustainable use of pesticides to minimise impacts on the environment and human health, whilst maintaining food production.  The key aim is to reduce the potential harm from pesticides by 10% by 2030.  The Plan has three key objectives;

• to encourage the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) and alternative approaches or techniques
• to establish timetables and targets for the reduction of the risks and impacts of pesticide use, including monitoring and setting targets for the reduction of use of pesticides containing active substances of particular concern
• to strengthen compliance to ensure storage, handling, cleaning and disposal operations do not endanger human health or the environment.

In terms of reducing the potential harm from pesticides, this target is measured using the Pesticide Load Indicator (PLI), which is a UK-specific metric made up of 20 different indicators.  The target requires a 10% reduction against each by 2030, using 2018 as a baseline year.

The Plan notes the UK already performs well on pesticide usage relative to the rest of the world, pointing out that whilst the total weight of pesticide active substance applied in agriculture increased globally by around 90% between 1990 and 2020, the UK saw a near 60% decrease over the same period.  The full policy paper can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-pesticides-national-action-plan-2025/uk-pesticides-national-action-plan-2025-working-for-a-more-sustainable-future#annex-3-pesticide-facts-and-figures .

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has extended the use of Glyphosate in Great Britain until at least 15th December 2026.  The extension comes following an application by the Glyphosate Renewal Group (GRG) for a renewal of the active substance.   The HSE has determined it will not have made a decision on the renewal before the expiry of the licence and, because this is out of the control of the applicant, it must extend the approval period by a further period sufficient to examine the application. 

The extension will now allow for a full renewal assessment of glyphosate to be completed.  The HSE will consider whether glyphosate continues to meet the legislative approval criteria for an active substance.  It has also said this will include a ‘critical consideration’ of the recent European Union (EU) assessment which supported their decision to renew the approval of glyphosate (see https://abcbooks.co.uk/glyphosate-10/).  Under the terms of the Windsor Framework, EU plant protection regulations continue to apply directly in Northern Ireland.  Therefore the EU’s recent decision to renew Glyphosate permits authorised products to be sold and used in Northern Ireland.  Glyphosate has been widely used in agriculture for a number of years now and the loss of it would have a significant impact, particularly now with the rise of regenerative and no-till farming where it is required to control weeds prior to planting.