Growing numbers of UK arable producers are discovering the benefits of maize in the rotation with low-input agronomy, reduced nitrogen requirement and an expanding biogas sector amongst the many factors driving its popularity.
Challenging drilling conditions in autumn 2023 and into the new year increased the demand for spring seed with many crop producers trying maize for the first time in 2024, explains Sarah Hawthorne of DSV UK.
“Choose the right variety and maize can be a great break crop, adding diversity to cereal rotations and providing significant opportunities for soil improvement through the use of cover crops and organic manures.
“There’s a growing range of marketing options too. The UK is far from self-sufficient in grain maize and an increasing number of buyers are offering forward contracts for the crop.
“There are also opportunities to grow the crop as a forage for neighbouring dairy producers, but the real growth is coming from an increasing demand for maize as a feedstock for AD.”
The UK’s recently introduced Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is also encouraging growers to look favourably on including maize in their arable rotations, she points out.
"If you undersow maize crops, for example, you will be paid £55/ha under the latest SFI and if you choose to grow an over winter multi-species cover crop to protect soils from nutrient loss, you will receive an additional £129/ha.
“There are other payments around integrated pest management and reducing insecticide use, which favours maize over conventional cereal crops.
“So, all in all, there are many good reasons for arable producers to increasingly consider maize as an option to traditional combinable crops.”
Variety choice key
Variety choice is key with growers needing to choose the right combination of yield, ease of management and resilience in the face of increasingly challenging growing conditions, she adds.
“Previously listed as suitable for ‘Very Favourable’ sites based on data from the UK’s National Institute of Agricultural Biology (NIAB) and British Society of Plant Breeding (BSPB) data, MOVANNA is proving to be very popular with biogas growers.
“It’s a tall, dark green variety, which appeals to producers and AD operators alike with high gas yield potential.