Last week saw the first meeting of industry in response to the OSR Reboot called for by United Oilseeds earlier this year, and to say the attendance and support was substantial would be an understatement.
A total of 57 industry professionals from 41 different companies and organisations across all facets of the industry including farmers, retailers, breeders, research institutes, crushers, agronomists, beekeepers and conservationists, and industry bodies joined the call to instigate change for a sustainable increase in OSR production in the UK.
Hosted by industry expert Dr Julian Little on behalf of United Oilseeds, representatives of the AHDB, the AIC, the John Innes Centre and ADM Erith joined United Oilseeds Managing Director James Warner to present their thoughts on the state of OSR and potential future developments.
James Warner commented: “What an amazing start. Seeing so many participants come together with a desire and willingness to affect change is truly inspiring and that collaborative spirit will no doubt play a crucial role in achieving our aims of a recovery for OSR production in the UK.”
James opened the meeting with a brief review of the current OSR situation, as outlined in the initial OSR Reboot open letter. He highlighted the lowest hectarage in 40 years, declining yields, challenging establishment, and most importantly the offshoring of neonicotinoid usage and the unfairness of the unlevel playing field this creates for UK farmers. He also mentioned a negative net trade swing of 2 million tons, equating to nearly £1 billion, and a drop in food security for edible oils to less than 20%, down from 40%. Additionally, he touched on reduced pollen and nectar supply, animal feed shortages, and increased carbon emissions linked to imports.
Following James' introduction, presentations were given by Rory Blacklock, ADM Erith’s General Manager, on the impact of increased OSR imports on the crushing sector, and by Sacha White from AHDB and Rachel Wells from the John Innes Centre on CSFB, IPM strategies, research, and breeding, including gene editing. Rose Riby, Agricultural Industries Confederation’s (AIC) Head of Combinable Crops and Seed, concluded the presentation part of the virtual meeting discussing potential policy change proposals, amongst other topics including SFI, deforestation legislation, and seed import barriers.
Following the event we caught up with Rose to get some feedback on the first session and she commented:
"It was good to be a part of this valuable industry-wide discussion, as we seek to collaborate on ways to bolster oilseed production in the UK.
"The ideas shared in this meeting complement the policy work led by AIC to advocate ways to increase the area grown domestically in the face of current challenges, and we look forward to ramping up these efforts over the coming months."
The 1-hour 45-minute session wrapped up with a discussion featuring comments from Mark Nightingale of Elsoms Seeds, who emphasised the need to mitigate risks for farmers, and Paul Barton of the Bee Farmers Association, who voiced support for the initiative, noting the decline in OSR is highly problematic for many bee farmers.
To highlight the industry representation we’ve provided a short analysis of the attendees below:
Post event James Warner wrote to thank all attendees with the following message:
“I want to sincerely thank you all for your time earlier this week. I was truly impressed to see 57 representatives from 41 different companies and organisations from across our sector come together in support of this important initiative.
“We face a pivotal moment for OSR in the UK, and it is only through collaboration that we can drive meaningful change—both in the immediate future and for the long term. I am deeply passionate about the future of this crop and will be relentless in pushing this agenda forward.
“In the weeks, months, and years ahead, I hope we can build on the momentum from the meeting and work together to transform the prospects of this iconic crop. Thank you once again, and I look forward to advancing this agenda with your continued support.”