THE biggest cereal and oilseed rape variety event in the North-East takes place next week.

The annual crop variety open day, organised by Farmway, is at Grange Farm, Croft, near Darlington, on Friday, June 22, between noon and 6pm.

It features more than 32 large commercial plots, more than 20 breeders and suppliers, and a moisture meter clinic.

Thirteen wheats, including three newly-recommended feed varieties - Oakley, the highest-yielding first wheat available; Humber, a short, very stiff strawed variety; and Zebedee, the highest yielding Group 3 variety available.

Other wheats include Alchemy, which took more than 19 per cent of certified seed production last year, and Gladiator, which is proving extremely popular with the region's feed growers.

The barley includes several newly-recommended varieties including the very high-yielding Retriever and Saffron, which is already the market leading feed barley in the UK.

Farmway said Bioverda's recent oilseed rape crushing plant announcement for Teesside makes correct varietal selection more important than ever.

Among the varieties on show will be Kalif, which the company introduced last season. It produced the highest gross output of all new conventional varieties in TAG trials last year, including an impressive 5.58 tonnes/ha at Bainton, in Yorkshire, coupled with outstanding disease resistance.

Farmway's free 2007 Arable Guide is available on the day or from 01325 504 600.