Rapsmästaren 2020 – a forward-looking idea or just marketing?

 Participants, from 7 nations search the new Rapeseed champion

Rapeseed present in the last years an outstanding success story. 2014 reached the EU rapeseed production their last peak with 24.2 Mill. tons. The farmers made a huge profit with the yellow flowering crop but based on several factors rapeseed become under pressure in the lastyears and reached less than 18 Mill. tons in 2018/2019. How can we pass the current valley?

Rapsmästaren 2020 Sweden
 Rapsmästaren 2020 Sweden
SFO, the Swedish association of rapeseed farmers established in 2015/2016 already a new innovative platform for international knowledge exchange, respectively between rapeseed industry and their customers – the rapeseed farmers themselves. They could win several sponsors to place money in a central budget, which they can use to invite 40 participants from several countries to participate with their personal rapeseed technology. With this new approach they established a platform for technology exchange, discussion about possible solutions for the current challenges and in the same time developed a motivating image story for the long-time darling – rapeseed.

The last champion Gunnar Henningsson reached 6.570 kg and convinced with 49,2 % oil, a result which is presenting – rapeseed is still a profitable crop and a key stone for our European crop rotations.

[Ein Bild, das Baum, Pflanze enthält. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung] Now 4 years later, SFO was able to repeat the Rapsmästaren project together with their new partners Lantmännen, Scandinavian Seed, Väderstad, Yara and Agria.

On the 3rd of October they could invite to the traditional autumn field day for interested visitors and for an internal field tour with the new 40 participants from 7 countries. What were the main highlights: 

Rapeseed champion 2020
 Rapeseed champion 2020

  1.  An intensive fertilization N-P-K before sowing
  2. Based on herbicide limitations was Belkar the most used solution
  3. Seed mixtures and different densities from 20 up to 70 seeds/m²
  4. A broad range of 21 different hybrids from all main rapeseed breeders

Based on our international Rapool network we could arrange, that next to the two German variants also SPZO participate on the Rapsmästaren 2020. Their current autumn strategy contains:

  1. Variety: TEMPTATION
  2. Density: 40 seeds/m²
  3. Fertilization: 200 kg Yara Mila (autumn) with 8 – 10,5 – 19
  4. Herbicide: 0,25 l/ha Centium + 0,25 l/ha Belkar

The next 4 – 6 weeks will be used by the several participants to prepare their plots for the coming winter, which can be always critical in the South of Sweden (close to Trelleborg). We as Rapool will keep an eye on that innovative platform and deliver further updates about Rapsmästaren, because we believe on the international exchange as a solution for our current challenges. Therefore, we are proud to present, that we were able together with SPZO to invite a group of SFO to our main rapeseed event in Czech Republic – HLUK.

 

René Brand

Rapool International Productmanager