Improve Cashflow
Most seed is supplied at a time when cashflow is critical; by processing
your own seed the farmer only has to pay out the contractor charge
(ie. without the value of the seed), thus improving cashflow and
saving Bank Charges.
Seed On Time! - Is Drilling Date Critical?
As drilling becomes progressively earlier, how often do farmers
have to delay Autumn drilling for undelivered Certified Seed, unless
using less vigorous overwintered seed? The logistics of the short
turnaround time create immense pressures on the seed trade. Farm
Processed Seed stays on your farm, thereby leaving the farmer in
control of when it is processed for planting.
Seed Quality
The sample quality of Farm Processed Seed is now usually
as good as and often better than Certified Seed. Why?
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Farmers takes the 1st step by selecting the right variety,
controlling purity with good rotation, and follow 'standard
agronomic practices' to achieve disease and weed control.
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Then choose a Mobile Seed Processor that can offer the
equipment, management and expertise to achieve the standard
you require. Most processors have quality cleaners which
grade by size, but additionally have Gravity Selectors or
Tables, which grade by density.
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The farmer can control his seed quality by determining
how much tail is cleaned out from the sample and returned to
the commercial heap for sale, (usually achieved by using correct
screen size). The more tail that static plants clean out, the
more their production costs increase, as seed premiums are usually
paid to the grower on the whole crop supplied.
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The quality of seed treatment application is now as
good as, if not frequently better than, Certified Seed. 'Mobiles'
increasingly have similar equipment to 'statics' but have the
added advantage of operators being close to and better able
to monitor the quality of application.
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Consider NAAC Processors who are members of the independently
audited Verified Seed Scheme.
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Seed Testing to check
the quality of the seed intended for processing is also offered
by most NAAC Mobile Seed Processors, and is required for Verified
Seed Membership.
The Logistics of Farm Processed Seed
There is an NAAC Mobile Seed Processor, with equipment suitable
to process your requirements almost anywhere in the UK.
There are some national, but mainly regional or local
Mobile Seed Processing companies. A quick visit to the
NAAC Find a Contractor area will guide you to the appropriate
operators.
The farmer is usually requested to provide the seed in a trailer
(with a spout), a loader and some help with bagging off the seed.
In most areas, Mobile Seed Processing companies have invested in
top quality equipment to suit the locality and farm scale, whether
arable or mixed units.
Large tonnages can be handled by high throughput machines
into large seed bags.
Smaller tonnages can be handled at appropriately lower speeds
into smaller bags.
Outputs for Wheat range from 2 tonnes - up to 12 tonnes per hour.
Estimates of Farm Processed Seed Usage
There are no hard figures on usage, since a proportion of seed
processed is non-Royalty bearing, hence no tonnage figures are collected
on that proportion.
However it is generally recognised that:-
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At least 30% of all seed planted is Farm Processed
Seed
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At least 75% of the above is processed by NAAC Mobile
Seed Processors
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At least 70% of all farmers have used Farm Processed
Seed at some point.
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About 50% of farmers use Farm Processed seed every year
for a proportion of their seed.
Conclusion
There is now every reason for farmers to produce high quality
seed using NAAC Mobile Seed Processors.