With a gross output of 108%, 2% higher than its nearest rival, the AHDB Recommended List (RL) OSR Candidate variety RGT Eros is one to watch, says Kirsty Richards, national technical manager for seeds at Frontier Agriculture. It is one of five varieties selected for Frontier’s oilseed rape derisking partnership, and this year it is the only variety advanced from the RL candidate stage on the list.

“The Frontier OSR derisking partnership has run for several years and is due to run again for this drilling season,” says Kirsty. “We began it in 2024 when cabbage stem flea beetle was at its peak.

“Frontier sits at both ends of the chain as an input and advice supplier and grain buyer, which places us in a good position to minimise the risk for growers. It means that growers that sign-up to the scheme have the cost for the seed and accompanying companion crop waived if the crop fails to establish.

“Therefore, to give growers the best opportunity to succeed, we only place the best possible varieties in the derisking partnership.”

As well as the headline yield, RGT Eros has agronomics similar to other RAGT varieties, such as RGT Kanzzas, including strong foliar disease resistance with 8s for Phoma and light leaf spot. “It has good oil content, which is attractive for the oil bonuses,” adds Kirsty.

With Frontier operating nationwide, Kirsty also looks for varieties that provide consistent performance across all regions. It has yielded equally well across all of Frontier’s trial sites, which is supported by similar results in the AHDB trials.

RAGT cereals and oilseeds product manager Ed Stanford says that their expectations for sales this coming year are managed by RGT Eros still being a candidate, but that this year is an ideal chance for farmers to try a percentage of their acreage to see how it performs against their existing varieties.

“We are expecting RGT Eros to be well placed to come onto the new RL in the winter, and for it to be a variety that takes a decent market share,” explains Ed. “With prospects for the crop appearing so good at the moment, it is the perfect opportunity for OSR growers to see how much further they can push yields with the latest genetics.”