Collaboration in sugar beet sector

Research carried out by EFFP on behalf of NFU Sugar shows collaboration in the sugar beet sector is common practice, with some 69% of respondents indicating that they share some on-farm activities with other farmers and growers, though there are many more opportunties improve efficiencies through colaboration.

Type and level of collaborative activity

The survey indicates that there is a significant level of long standing collaborative activity amongst growers who responded to the survey, particularly amongst larger growers. The majority of examples are contractual arrangements; there are fewer examples of 'whole enterprise' collaboration.

  • The survey showed 69% of growers in the survey are part some form of collaborative activity. The most common form of activity was in input buying with some 40% of growers collaborating in this way.

  • The level of collaborative activity increases significantly with the size of enterprise; 63% of growers producing between 5,000 and 10,000 tonnes of beet per annum buy inputs collaboratively. Those that buy together are more likely to collaborate in 'field to factory' activities

  • Some 55% of growers in the survey share one or more 'field to factory' activities including fertilizer spreading, loading, harvesting, cultivation/drilling and haulage. Levels of collaboration increased with scale of operation, suggesting smaller growers are either more reluctant to share operations or encounter difficulties in finding others to work with.

  • It is also evident that a high proportion of the shared activity between growers is on an operation by operation basis with 57% collaborating in field operations, sharing only one or two activities. These are likely to be on a contractual basis rather than a more risk sharing collaborative business basis.

Why collaborate? The important benefits defined

  • 66% of growers in the survey considered cost reduction to be a very important benefit of collaboration, particularly in reducing harvesting and haulage costs. There was also a belief that collaboration could result in improved yields to give a further benefit. Freeing up capital and time was considered a less important factor.

  • The main barriers surround the difficulty of withdrawing from a collaborative arrangement and the risk that collaborative partnerships could jeopardise quota allowances. However evidence suggests these risks can be minimised by properly drawn up agreements. Therefore there is significant scope for extending collaboration across the industry, which could bring benefits to the businesses of many more beet producers.

Learn about examples of sugar beet collaboration