Malting barley is a crop that puts Scotland’s farmers on the world map.
Buoyed by strong sales of Scotch whisky, demand for quality samples is high.
However, failure to meet the strict quality criteria carries a significant price penalty.
Grant Baird, who farms in a family partnership with his son at Mains of Dun Farm at Montrose, found out to his cost what it means to miss out on the premium and vowed that he would not let it happen again.
“We’ve had several instances where the malting barley failed the germination test. We can’t afford that.
“Achieving malting specification might realise £5-10,000 across our spring barley crop that we couldn’t achieve before. It’s not a life changing sum, but it’s money we can make use of,” he says.
“Selling at a price lower than the market peak was a real source of frustration, and it was a major factor in our decision to join Angus Cereals.
“But we have also come to appreciate the peace of mind it affords us and the stress it takes off us at harvest.”
Like many farms across Scotland, Grant Baird was struggling with aging infrastructure that was erected when machines were smaller and needs were less demanding.
A 2011 study by the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society found 35% of farm stores are estimated to be more than 30 years old and a further 64% more than 15 years old.
With combine harvester output more than doubling since these stores were erected, the vast majority are ill equipped to keep pace with modern farm equipment.
The same survey found that 30% of Scotland’s farmers cite insufficient dryer capacity as placing a major constraint on activities at harvest.
His solution was to invest in storage at Angus Cereals which could improve his chances of securing the premium through blending samples.
“It was a product-specific solution to an issue we faced.
“Importantly, it meant we could afford to cut the grain at a higher moisture content than we would have otherwise liked, to ensure we preserved quality,” he says.
Before joining Angus Cereals he had struggled to maintain quality, despite purchasing a new dryer with greater capacity.
“A run of wet harvests meant we were forced to cut at 20%+ moisture and then dry it slowly to preserve quality.
“We’d recently bought a good new batch drier and while it does an excellent job, you have to be careful not to let it get too hot.
“This made drying a lengthy and at times difficult process,” he said.
“Despite our best efforts we found the crop had germination problems.
“We persevered for several seasons but the reality was that we were never able to get a harvest where we could cut at 17-18%, and I wasn’t prepared to continue growing a good crop only to see it lose its premium after going through the drier.”
Since joining Angus Cereals he has reduced the winter barley and second wheat area and increased the area of the spring crop which has helped to improve farm profitability.
But there were other considerations too, including managing a large quantity of wet grain at harvest and the need to begin succession planning for the eventual handover to his son, Grant.
“There were practical issues, specifically with the winter wheat,” he said.
“Although harvesting dates rarely clashed, we would often have two heaps of wet grain in the store in need of drying.
“The benefit of central storage is that the barley is lifted off the farm within 24-hours of harvest, and we are free to focus on winter wheat without having to worry about handling two crops in the store.
“It removes the bottleneck. One phone call and it’s away.”
Not having to worry about grain nitrogen levels is another benefit.
“To me there is no point accepting a low-yielding crop simply to achieve the target grain nitrogen level.
“I’d far rather be able to achieve a respectable yield and have a grain nitrogen content of 1.7%.
“The fact that Angus Cereals has the capabilities to blend this away within a large sample ensures I retain my premium.”
The cost of membership was not a significant factor in his decision to join; it was the marketing expertise and market security, along with the greater chance of securing a premium that was the clincher.
“In seven years’ time it’s paid off and we have the storage right in perpetuity.
“My storage here is between 30 and 50 years old and, although in good order, with modest maintenance costs currently in the region of £1,000 a year including drier maintenance, and replacing broken roof sheets, I can see more serious plant and building costs on the horizon.
“So while the maintenance costs remain, there are potential savings to be made by reducing the workload on aging plant.
“In addition, as a tenant a further benefit from investing in Angus Cereals was the ability to retain the whole investment within the farm business as a long-term asset without it being written off over an artificially short set period.”