ARABLE farmers in North East Lincolnshire are not expecting a bumper oilseed rape crop this year.
A wet autumn resulted in unhelpful soil conditions at seed-planting time.
The crop is now in full flower, but there are concerns about a pest - cabbage stem flea beetle larva - which appears to have developed a resistance to available chemical treatment and has reportedly been spreading north from other eastern counties such as Bedfordshire and Suffolk.
Some other chemicals, which might have been applied in the past, have been banned because of their harmful impact on bees which are essential for pollination.
* Pictured is oilseed rape growing in a field between Humberston and Tetney.
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