An Oxfordshire farmer is playing a central role in a trial to improve the yield and quality of oilseed rape.

James Price, 35, of Perdiswell Farm near Woodstock, and a Lincolnshire farmer are working with global companies on the crop.

Oxfordshire is one of the country’s main areas for growing oilseed rape, used for light machine oil, biofuel and cooking.

Mr Price was approached by fertiliser company Yara to take part after working previously with the firm.

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It is giving him free seed and chemicals worth about £500 and he is also working along with sustainable agriculture company Monsanto and chemical company BASF.

He said of the three-year trial: “It’s promoting best practice in oilseed rape. I get the knowledge of what we’re doing to achieve it.”

Mr Price has committed 10 acres of his family-owned farm to grow 17 different varieties of oilseed rape, 14 of which are experimental.

The 1,600-acre farm has 550 acres devoted to oilseed rape, with other crops being winter wheat, spring barley and broad beans. Issues include control of weeds like charlock and use of different fertilisers and insecticides.

The impact of a new European Union ban on the use of the insecticide neonicotinoids for flowering crops will also be examined.

He said: “The concern is there’s a potential risk that the neonicotinoids cause eight months later with pollinating bees.”

The insecticide, however, was useful in eradicating the cabbage stem flea beetle, which can wipe out an oilseed rape crop.

Yara’s chief agronomist for north and east Europe Mark Tucker said it wants to discover if UK production can rise from three tonnes per hectare to up to about 6.5 tonnes per hectare. He said: “We’re trying to get a better dialogue with the farmer to show them better practices and to learn from them.”

Improved yields could offset a price drop for the crop.

Mr Price said a glut of supply of oilseed rape in global markets had caused the commodity’s price to drop from £400 per tonne two years ago to £230 now.

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