THE biggest cereal and oilseed rape variety event in the North-East takes place at Croft later this month.

The annual crop variety open day, organised by Farmway, will feature a record 12 oilseed rape varieties, 11 wheats and seven barleys at Grange Farm, Croft, near Darlington, on Friday, June 24, from noon until 6pm. Large commercial plots of varieties, grown under farm conditions, can be seen.

Tony Simpson, Farmway commercial manager, said that last year Lioness was one of the highest-yielding varieties of the conventional oilseed rapes on the site and the company was pleased to be involved in its marketing.

Lioness was top of the HGCA Recommended List and set a new standard for oil content at 46.5pc - an impressive 3pc more than the current market leading variety.

Good oil bonuses were vital to healthy margins and, when high seed yields were added to an exceptional oil content, the gross margin from Lioness got rather attractive. Lioness gave a full 10pc improvement on Winner and was 8pc ahead of Castile in the Northern Region.

Peter Collins, seeds manager for Farmway, also said that Pollen continued to perform well locally on farms, producing consistently high yields coupled with a high oil content.

This year a record 12 oilseed rape varieties feature at Croft, underlining the ever-increasing importance of oilseed rape, with biodiesel contracts now available from Farmway/GrainCo.

There are 11 wheat varieties and Brian Grealy from Countrywide Farmers stresses the importance of growing wheat varieties for specific markets.

This year Farmway is once again leading with Einstein (Group 2), Robigus (Group 3) and Gladiator (Group 4), as well as having stocks of the new varieties Ambrosia and Glasgow.

The seven barley varieties include Pearl, still the most widely grown variety. Farmers will also get the opportunity to see Saffron, which will be available for 2006.

A Sinar moisture meter clinic will be held on the day, where farmers can have their meters tested for £10 each.