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<p>There is no certified organic farmland that uses wholly non-organic seeds, as use
of organic seeds is a requirement for certification. In cases where, due to limited
availability, a producer cannot source the required seeds in sufficient quantities,
the organic regulation does, however, allow producers to use a mixture of organic
and non-organic seeds. The organic legislation recognises that the seed sector is
not sufficiently developed to meet the demand for organic seeds with a 100% requirement.
In these cases, non-organic seeds must make up the minimum proportion possible and
the mixture must be evenly mixed and spread across the land in question.</p><p> </p><p>We
do not have data on the area of land in England for which such authorisations have
been granted. We can, however, supply figures for the total number of authorisations
and quantities involved for the UK as a whole.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Non-organic arable
seed used by organic farmers: 2017 to 2019</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Crop</strong></p></td><td
colspan="2"><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td
colspan="2"><p><strong>2020</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Authorisations</p></td><td><p>Tonnes</p></td><td><p>Authorisations</p></td><td><p>Tonnes</p></td><td><p>Authorisations</p></td><td><p>Tonnes</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Winter
Wheat</strong></p></td><td><p>80</p></td><td><p>126.3</p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>142.9</p></td><td><p>90</p></td><td><p>107.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spring
Wheat</strong></p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>32.2</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>98.4</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>59.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spring
Barley</strong></p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>348.3</p></td><td><p>166</p></td><td><p>250.3</p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>141.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Winter
Barley</strong></p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>84.4</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>66.5</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>151.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spring
Oats</strong></p></td><td><p>46</p></td><td><p>129.7</p></td><td><p>99</p></td><td><p>230.7</p></td><td><p>42</p></td><td><p>65.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Winter
Oats</strong></p></td><td><p>29</p></td><td><p>59.5</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>42.3</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Winter
Rye</strong></p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>44.2</p></td><td><p>65</p></td><td><p>119.3</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>72.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spring
Triticale</strong></p></td><td><p>67</p></td><td><p>63.6</p></td><td><p>47</p></td><td><p>19.8</p></td><td><p>56</p></td><td><p>75.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Winter
Triticale</strong></p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>22.9</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>14.7</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>9.6</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p> </p><p>Due to variations in year to year harvest and market conditions affecting
availability there is still variation. The long-term trend, however, is that over
recent years the number of authorisations needed has on average decreased, due to
increasing availability of organic seeds.</p>
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