Welcome to the first EVER Nickerson Seed Book!

Click to download your copy of the new guide!

For the very first time, you’ll find our entire range brought together in one place – Cereals, Pulses, Oilseed Rape, Maize, Circle Leys grass mixtures, plus our specialist Forage and Environmental seeds. A full catalogue designed to give you clarity, choice, and confidence when it comes to your seed decisions.

Nickerson are the Original Seed Specialists. For over 75 years, we’ve supplied seed and advice to British farmers – trusted by generations because we understand the job, the challenges, and what it takes to grow a successful crop. Our history gives us provenance. Our experience gives you peace of mind. When you choose Nickerson, you are not just buying seed – you are investing in a partnership.

That partnership is delivered through our nationwide team of Nickerson Seed Specialists. These are not simply salespeople – they are experts, practical thinkers, and trusted advisors. They know farming, they know seed, and they take the time to understand your business. Their role is simple: to help you make the best choice for every field, every season.

We are proud of our heritage, but we never stand still.

Farming is changing – new pressures, new opportunities, new demands on every hectare. Our job is to make sure you have the right seed, the right advice, and the right support to meet those challenges head-on.

This brochure is designed to help you do exactly that. It brings our portfolio together in one clear guide – from high-yielding cereals and resilient oilseed rape to productive maize, proven grass mixtures, and targeted environmental options. Every product has been selected, tested, and supported by Nickerson, so you can choose with confidence.

Quality seed. Trusted advice. Unmatched service. That has been our promise for over 75 years – and it remains our promise today.

Take a look at our 2026 Seed Book today.

As the 2025 autumn drilling season draws to a close, I have now completed my first full season with Nickerson.

James Frazer

There will be some more wheat to be drilled after potatoes but on the whole, most farms have completed their drilling campaign for crop 2026. The ’25 growing season has been challenging due to the extreme weather conditions that growers have faced. The dry spring allowed spring crops to be established early in good conditions, but the crops were soon needing moisture and yields have suffered as a result.

The winter crops, by contrast, were established in good conditions in autumn ’24 and although there has been some loss of yield potential due to moisture stress, the yields have been very good for winter wheat, barley and oilseed rape.

The oilseed rape especially, has been the standout crop on most farms that include it in their rotation, with many yields reported around or above 5t/ha! 

The role with Nickerson has helped me increase my knowledge of varieties of all crops, which has allowed me to better advise my customers.

LG Typhoon

For winter barley growers, both LG Caravelle and LG Capitol are equally good options. Oilseed rape growers have a plentiful number of varieties to choose from, with LG Adapt giving another step up in yield, alongside the established LG Armada and LG Ambassador. LG Anarion is still a robust variety for farms with shorter brassica rotations.

LG Rebellion

Wheat growers have a choice of variety for each sowing position. LG Typhoon is suitable for the early sowing slot from the start of September, and LG Beowulf is a good option for the mid and late drilling slot. For late drilling, which is predominantly after potatoes or vegetables, LG Redwald offers a very high yield potential.

Although LG Skyscraper has been on the market for several years, it has shown its resilience, and it is still a good option for the mid to late slot. This year, many farmers have commented that it has yielded around 12.5 t/ha in many different parts of the country.

Another variety that gives growers a different option is LG Rebellion. It has an early maturity of -1, without losing a lot of yield. In fact, it was one of our top yielding varieties in the LG Perth trial site.

With this season over, I’m already looking forward to the next one, and I’m eager to see how new LG varieties are performing on farm.

For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact your local Nickerson Seed Specialist.

The Nickerson team once again attended the Bath & West Dairy Show, based near Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

This year, we were based in the Showering Pavilion, opposite the cattle arena. It is always great to see the hard work and commitment so many put into their stock, really pay off. I have been attending this event since I was young and although the site and stands remain similar, what attendees show and sell has definitely changed!

That goes for seed too; varieties, regardless of species, have moved on so much in the past decade. With the sheer number of different varieties and mixtures on the market, coupled with the Single Farm Incentive (SFI) and other environmental schemes, it can be difficult to know what to do.

This is where we, as Seed Specialists, can help you to make it all a bit clearer!

There is often a theme when talking to customers on a show stand. The recurring theme on stand at this year’s show was variability. Whether that be levels of forage in stock for the winter, or progress through maize harvest, it all comes down to who caught the rain and who sadly did not. I can say from my own experience, that west of Cardiff and South Wales has been lucky, as has Devon and Cornwall. Whereas, central and Southern areas have had to contend with a serious forage shortfall. 

There is little that can be done about that now of course, although there is still time to put in catch crop mixtures to maximise home grown forage for the winter and into the spring.

Options at this point in the season could include short and long-term leys, wholecrop options or forage rye, which is often overlooked, but can be grazed in situ or zero grazed.

Another takeaway from this season, particularly in drought hit areas, is that the smallest differences can have the biggest effects. Soil type for example, has affected how well crops have done this year more than most, even soil type differences within the same field have been quite easy to spot.

As our weather is getting more and more extreme, rotation planning, cultivation methods, drilling dates and many more factors, are all things which can have a significant difference on the outcome and success of your crops.

Contact your Nickerson Seed Specialist for the best advice for your specific farm needs.

LG Rebellion; an early high yielding, hard wheat for the south-west

In recent years, south-west England has seen increasing interest in hard feed wheats, that offer both yield and adaptability. One variety making waves is LG Rebellion; a Group 4 hard feed wheat from Limagrain, which brings together several traits, especially suited to the climate and soils of this region.

Taken mid-November 2024, LG Rebellion on the right, versus a competitor variety

LG Rebellion builds on the agronomic pedigree of KWS Extase but improves in key areas. It’s early to mature, which is a big plus in the south-west, where weather windows for harvest can be tight. Early maturity gives growers more flexibility for arranging subsequent cropping or mitigating risk of late season weather damage. With this in mind, late drilling is also a viable option with LG Rebellion.

Yield potential is another strong point. Trials indicate LG Rebellion delivers very strong untreated yields, comparable or even exceeding many other hard varieties. It’s disease resistance profile is robust; good resistance to yellow rust and Septoria, and it carries Pch1 eyespot resistance – a valuable trait where eyespot can be a threat under damp conditions.

Sown in October 2023, LG Rebellion established well by early April and by mid-May, it had romped away!

In the souh-west, soils range from heavier clay loams to lighter sandy soils, often with significant rainfall, especially during autumn and winter. Crops here endure a combination of wet conditions, risk of disease pressure, and sometimes slower seedbed drying.

A wheat variety that matures earlier, with strong disease resistance, helps reduce these risks. LG Rebellion’s stiffness of straw and earlier harvest window are valuable assets.

On balance, LG Rebellion looks like a strong option for wheat growers in the south-west. Its combination of excellent yield, earlier maturity, and resistance traits, make it well suited to the climatic and disease pressures of the area.

For farmers looking to spread harvest workload, reduce risk, and maintain quality, LG Rebellion seems to tick many of the right boxes.

LG Rebellion yielded 1 t/ acre more than the competitor variety.

We have a number of new wheat varieties in the LG portfolio this year.

The first to look out for is LG Shergar, a newcomer on the Recommended List for 2025. Although a Group 2 variety with breadmaking potential, LG Shergar is largely grown as a feed wheat meaning it offers a lot of marketing flexibility.  It is suited to most soil types, but performs best on heavy, fertile soil and it is a short, stiffed strawed variety with good resistance to lodging.

LG Shergar is best suited for the first wheat drilling slot, but its flexibility allows it to perform well as a second wheat too, meaning it can be drilled into February. With a specific weight of 80.4, it is the highest on the Recommended List of all the Group 1s and 2s, contributing to a higher yield and looked upon favourably by end users. With high yields particularly in the North and an excellent disease resistance package, I think this variety will be a strong choice for many Yorkshire growers and am particularly excited to see what it does on farm, in areas like Holderness.

We are hosting our Rothwell demo day on 8^th July, so please come along and see how LG Shergar has performed in trials as well as view our other varieties, including Nickerson’s exclusive variety LG Rebellion.

The winter of 2023/24 was long and wet, and many winter-drilled cereal crops suffered and failed to establish. This led to some re-drilling through various parts of the country, exposing additional costs and losses.

Plant growth 11 days after drilling

A mid-October drilled crop of LG Caravelle over wintered very differently on the outskirts of Sidmouth, just a mile from the coast. This crop experienced six months of saturated soil and salty winds to produce a bumper crop at 4.5t/acre. This was largely due to a good strong root system being put down early with the help of Nickerson’s GPA proprietary seed coating. This helps to protect the seed and provide essential micronutrients where it is needed to promote good root growth and establishment. This in turn let the roots grow below the saturated layer of soil at the surface, and enabled oxygen to still be taken in by the roots. The same could also be said of drought periods, a good root structure can still find moisture in the lower soil levels, reducing crop stress due to lack of moisture.

Mid-April after 6 months of wet weather

The seed used was also of a very high quality, as you would expect from Nickerson, with a high germination and vigour rate. This all contributed to providing a good grain yield and large amounts of quality straw. There was so much straw that the combine had to push his header 4-5 foot outside of the crop, as the bailer could not cope.

Harvest day, note the header outside of the crop so the bailer can cope with the straw

It is worth seeking out the best quality seed with the right seed coatings to minimise risk when faced with the potential of adverse weather.

If you’d like more information on cropping options or our GPA coating, please contact Rob Ayres on 07827 890 390

I’m Simon Custance. I come from a family farm in north west Cambridgeshire where we grow winter and spring cereals, winter beans and sugar beet.

I’ve always enjoyed farming from helping my dad walk fields as a child, to grading potatoes and learning to drive a tractor in my teens.

I studied Agriculture with Crop Science at Hartpury where I learned much more about maize, grass and added to my existing knowledge of combinables and roots.

The course was wide-ranging including working on the university farm doing many roles. Milking cows, lambing and young stock management were all enjoyable parts that I learnt and was happy to gain experience in.

After finishing university in May 2020, I started with Agrii as a Agronomist. I really enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of identifying pests, weeds and diseases and coming up with both cultural and chemical solutions.

After almost 2 years with Agrii, I decided to leave in spring 2022, the world was opening post-Covid and I travelled to Canada to work on an arable farm and experience different farming methods. South Saskatchewan is on the same latitude as the midlands; however, the farming practices are incredibly different! Rainfall is about 30% of central England. The challenges for the farm there revolved around the large temperature fluctuation of -40 to +40 degrees Celsius, low rainfall and poorer soils.

On my return to England, I worked for a local New Holland dealer in Cambridgeshire demonstrating, selling and supporting products from combines to potato planters. I was given an established area and helped, through a difficult time for agriculture, to build a customer base and expand the business.

I have always thought seed is the most important part of growing. Varietal choice for the unique conditions each farm and field present is critical. That’s when I applied for the job with Nickerson, I am very much looking forward to learning and expanding the business.

Nickerson is a well-established and highly thought of company, I am very privileged to work for them as a Seed Specialist, learning and working in an industry which is always full of ideas and forward thinking.

For the fifth season the Todd family are kindly hosting our wheat demonstration in the borders.  This year we have 19 different varieties from ones growers are using at the moment, ones which are being looked at to grow in the future and new varieties within the AHDB candidate list.  After the success of last year’s demonstration we have repeated the different establishment methods.  All the varieties have been sown into both cultivated ground and directly into a standing cover crop with LG Redwald and LG Typhoon at different seed rates, 100% and 50% of the standard rate.

Updates will be posted throughout the season and we will again host an open day, with our partners Hutchinsons, in June.

After 45 years working for Nickerson I have decided to move on to the next stage of my life, which is  retirement.

I thought it was ironic that on my last day on farm I’ve taken a picture of one of the best crops of winter wheat I have seen in my area which happened to be Claire, a winter wheat which must be over 25 years old.  It has been a pleasure helping Nickerson to introduce new varieties to the market and hear the success stories of those that we have introduced, too many varieties to mention.

A massive thank you to all my customers, if it was not for your support and loyalty I would definitely not have lasted the 45 years working for the company and I wish you all every success in your future cropping. I know I am very comfortable leaving the business in a very safe pair of hands – those of Douglas Bonn. We have enjoyed meeting most of you over the last three months and he will continue to look after your requirements in the future.

Again thank you for your support I wish you well

Nick Wallace.

I am pleased to announce the introduction of the new Nickerson combinables brochure for Autumn 2024, which brings together for the first time Cereals and OSR, in to one easy to navigate book. This brochure should be the go-to document for anyone wishing to gather relevant information to help build their cropping plan for the next sowing season.

Whilst there may be viable alternatives/options within the current version of the SFI for marginal land. Choosing crops and varieties which offer the most economical route to the highest output, is still the biggest driver to whole farm profitability.

This booklet alongside the experience of your regional seed specialist, should help signpost you to the right choice for your situation.  Please click HERE to download a digital copy or the ‘find your local Seed Specialist’ button at the top of this page to connect you with someone who will be able to offer solutions to fit your farm, area, market or cropping plan. Seed supply may well be affected this autumn due to the difficult autumn and spring so I would suggest building the plan sooner rather than later, especially for Cereals and key varieties of OSR.   

I am excited to have started my career at Nickerson, and look forward to getting stuck into my new role as Seed Specialist in glorious Yorkshire.

I will be covering the Yorkshire region from the Humber to the moors of North Yorkshire, heading west across the Pennines and on to the Lancashire border. In my previous role I was involved in the seed potato industry, so with Nickerson I will be swapping seed potatoes for just about every other type of seed!

I grew up in the Scottish Borders surrounded by farms but with no direct links to agriculture until I opted to study it at SRUC in Edinburgh. I embarked on a career in the potato industry, having carried out a placement year with McDonald’s focussing on where their fries come from. I then switched from ware potatoes to seed potatoes. The seed industry has always been of interest to me for two key reasons; Firstly, regardless of the crop type everything in farming starts with a seed; Secondly, my grandfather had a seed business based in the Borders many years ago dealing mainly with grass. Although no longer in existence, I like to think I am carrying on the family tradition!

My area includes a mix of low ground arable farms to upland sheep farms, and I am looking forward to getting to know customers both old and new, and offering seed based solutions to meet the unique challenges thrown up by each farming system.

If I can be of any assistance to farmers in the Yorkshire region, please do not hesitate to contact me on 07734 737008 or grant.connor@nickerson.co.uk

As the shed doors close after a challenging harvest ‘23 we have been busy sowing the Nickerson demonstration sites for the coming season.

We have three sites this year.  In Aberdeenshire at Savock Farms, Ellon by kind permission of Andrew Booth.

Savock Farms, Ellon

Barelees Farm, Borders

In Fife at Wellsgreen Farm by kind permission of WS & J Whiteford and in conjunction with Forth Crop Solutions and in the borders at Barelees Farm by kind permission of the Todd family.

At each site we have current popular varieties and new varieties to look at from both the Limagrain wheat breeding program as well as other breeders.  Our focus this year has been on seed rates, so many varieties have been sown at different rates.

Wellsgreen Farm, Fife

Cultivation and the rotation position is different on each site.  At Savock the demonstration is after winter oil seed rape, cultivated with a Simba XL and sown with an Amazon drill, at Wellsgreen the demonstration is following spring barley cultivated with Simba SL and sown with a Lemken power harrow drill.  The Barelees site is after peas harvested in June and then sown in a cover crop.  Most of the field was cultivated with a Terrano the day before sowing with an area left to allow us to drill into the cultivated area and directly into the cover crop with a Vaderstad Rapid.

Updates will be posted throughout the season but if anyone would like to visit any of the sites please contact either Nick or Douglas.