A Kent grower has achieved a 9t/ha winter bean crop, surpassing winter wheat profitability.
Richard Budd who farms over 1,600ha near Tonbridge, has a history of high yielding crops. He has won various YEN trophies and a five year average of 5.4tha helped him scoop the NAGA 2025 Oilseed Grower of the Year trophy.
Last year, winter bean yields averaged over 6t/ha, with some fields achieving more than 9t/ha. These fields generated a higher gross margin compared to the farm’s winter wheat.
His 2023/4 bean crop – 200ha of Vesper – benefited from his non-negotiables – no compaction, minimal weed competition and good disease control
“Beans hate compaction, so we subsoil before drilling at 45 seeds/m2, adjusted for germination rates. The bean seeds were big with a good thousand grain weight, which is known to make a difference to yield. We applied Kerb (propyzamide) and Nirvana, pre-emergence, to give residual grassweed control,” he says.
Any tell tail senescence in July indicates one of two issues Richard notes – a heat wave or a chocolate spot infection.
“It doesn’t matter which crop you look at in the YEN competition, the longer you can keep them green, the bigger the yields. Beans are no different. I aim to keep them green until mid-July for harvest in late August or early September.
“When chocolate spot gets going it can be very aggressive, and it is the number one disease for yield loss. We mainly use tebuconazole and Signum, both are protectant, so we keep an eye on disease levels and maintain spray intervals.”
BASF’s business development manager, Iain Ford agrees that seedbed prep and disease control were critical factors. “Getting the most out of Nirvana is largely about timing applications within 24 hours of drilling into fine, firm seedbeds to ensure even herbicide coverage and good crop safety.”
Mr Budd notes that at their peak, his beans reached over 8ft tall, with up to 50 stems/m and 55 pods/plant.
For chocolate spot Iain says Signum is widely recognised as being the most effective product for controlling the disease and contributes to keeping crops green in several ways. “Applications at early flowering, repeated at mid to late flowering, protects beans through those important growth stages. Trials have shown that Signum also increases photosynthetic rate of the leaves adjacent to flowers and pods in the two weeks after application, which drives the growth and development of the seed and is key to gaining consistent yields.”
Ultimately Mr Budd says growing high yielding bean crops is about mindset. “I firmly believe that break crops must contribute as much as possible to the rotation, they aren’t there just to give us good wheat crops. Last year’s results weren’t a complete fluke. The weather certainly helped but we worked hard to get the basics in place.”
