With some growers having moved to winter linseed with the risks of growing OSR, both might be the better option.
That’s the view of Premium Crops seed and marketing manager, Nigel Padbury. He sees OSR coverage as on the up again, with current prices of around £485–500/t combined with the biofuels demand making a compelling commercial case. Linseed continues to trade at above £500/t with steady demand from human, animal feed and industrial sectors.
The OSR area is predicted to rise from around 280,000–300,000 hectares for harvest 2026 to as much as 320,000–340,000 hectares for harvest 2027.
But the problems that once eroded the confidence in OSR have not totally disappeared, he stresses. Verticillium, light leaf spot, slugs and cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) are all still present. They have simply become less visible while OSR acreage has been low. If growers drift back into the tight one-in-three wheat-rape rotations of the past, every one of those challenges could return with force.
“OSR works best as part of a genuinely diverse rotation, mixed with other break crops,” says Nigel. “We believe the temptation to drift back into a one-in-three wheat-rape rotation should be avoided.”
Where winter linseed fits
Winter linseed offers a practical solution to the rotation problem. Rather than replacing OSR, it extends the gap between OSR crops, moving from a three or four-year rotation to a seven-or-eight-year cycle.
“In a typical pattern, this might look like OSR, first wheat, a second wheat or winter barley, winter linseed, wheat and/or barley again, then back to OSR,” he explains. “The result is a wider rotation that delivers many of the same break-crop benefits while spreading risk across two distinct markets and crop types.”
One of the most compelling reasons to include winter linseed in any OSR rotation is its relationship (or rather, its lack of one) with the flea beetle. There is a slug benefit too. Once an established winter linseed crop is in the ground, slugs tend to migrate away, leaving measurably less pressure on the following wheat. Growers have reported applying as little as a quarter of their usual slug control after linseed compared with after OSR. He also points out winter linseed requires just 80–120 kg N/ha – roughly half the amount of OSR.
“Winter linseed and OSR are not competitors for a place in the rotation,” concludes Nigel. “They are partners, each making the other more viable and more resilient, and the new SFI comes with a limited pot, a cap of £100,000 per applicant, and a narrow application window, likely to exclude growers who already hold live three-year agreements.”
