Malting Barley specialist co-op, Highland
Grain, and Glenmorangie, the Scotch Whisky Distiller, said
that their strong relationship has helped both in a
difficult year for malting barley quality and for supplies
of malt. A unique arrangement, which also involves
Greencore Malt, means that all in the supply chain have
benefited, according to Graham Eunson, Manager of
Glenmorangie Distillery at Tain.
Speaking at the Highland Grain/Glenmorangie
Malting Barley Awards Dinner, he stated that the benefits of
a relationship with local co-op Highland Grain had again
added value for Glenmorangie in 2006. “The malt was of the
highest quality and has shown that the growers in Highland
Grain are very professional and highly focussed on their
market”, he said in his address to the gathering of 100
growers and guests at the event. He went on to say that the
benefits of such a strong supply chain were obvious as the
supply of malting barley becomes more volatile. “Security
of supply has become an issue for the whole industry and we
are very happy to be part of this arrangement”, said Mr
Eunson.
In his address, Jim Whiteford, Chairman
of Highland Grain, declared that the co-op was keen to
develop the relationship. “We are in this business for the
long term and want to see the distilling industry continue
its fantastic success story. As far as we are concerned,
success breeds success and we want to be part of that,” he
said. He went on to say that Highland Grain had had another
very good year, adding value to all grades of malting barley
and reducing its cost base. “We cannot stand still and we
are keen to implement many of our plans for the future,” he
commented.
Both Graham Eunson and Jim Whiteford
congratulated the prizewinners on their efforts in a
difficult season in which less than 1% of the crop had been
rejected by Highland Grain.
The winner in the Best Malting Sample –
Optic category was Balintore Farms, Geanies,
and in the Best
Malting Sample – Other Varieties, the winner was J
McCallum & Partner, St Martins,
with a sample of
Oxbridge.
These categories were judged by Dr Bill Lumsden,
Glenmorangie’s Master.
In the category for Best Overall Malting
Quality, A J Maciver & Son, Easter Auchterflow, demonstrated
incredible consistency by winning 1st prize,
having been second last year.
In closing the proceedings, Jim Whiteford
opined that there seemed to be better times ahead, as prices
for malting barley rise. “We are also seeing increased
demand for our product as a result of better prospects for
the distilling industry, but the weather risk also seems to
be increasing too, so better returns have become a
necessity”, he said.
The benefits of membership of Highland
Grain had been obvious for some time, he continued, and he
was now confident that growers would also be rewarded with
higher prices in 2007 and beyond. “Adding value to malting
barley remains the over-riding objective for our
members”, he went on, “and the key to that is to produce the
best quality.” He was looking forward, he stated, to
continuing and developing the excellent relationship with
Glenmorangie whose brand remains as a by-word for quality in
the mystical world of Scotch Whisky. He finished by
thanking all members for their professionalism and
commitment to the co-op.
Highland Grain CEO
Recognised with Award - 21.03.07
Simon Barry, the Chief
Executive of Highland Grain, was announced as winner of the Ed
Rainy Brown Memorial Award at the SAOS Annual Conference and
Dinner for Directors recently. He received the award from
Katy Rainy Brown. The Ed Rainy
Brown Memorial Award is jointly sponsored by SAOS and NFU
Scotland. Ed, who died tragically in 2003, was previously
Chief Executive of both organisations and the award is
dedicated to his memory. The award is presented to an
individual in the farming, forestry, aquaculture or associated
industries who has made an exceptional contribution within
their specific field.
Simon Barry’s
involvement started in 1979, in a part-time capacity, when he
was appointed as Company Secretary of Black Isle Grain Group,
as the co-operative was previously known. Since joining
Highland Grain as Chief Executive in 1992, the business has
doubled its malting barley throughput, becoming a specialist
direct supplier to distillers, and has boosted returns to
members. Over the same period, membership has more than
doubled and the net assets of the group have increased almost
fourfold. Investment in innovation to reduce costs and
increase quality has been a constant feature of the co-op.
One example of this is the recent installation of a heat
recovery system that has reduced fuel bills by 30% per annum,
and carbon dioxide emissions by 250 tonnes. Simon’s balance of
financial and entrepreneurial skills are invaluable to the
group, and he was nominated for the award by the Highland
Grain Board of Directors.
The judges recognised
the contribution Simon had made on behalf of the industry,
having twice served as an SAOS Council member and on the Board
of Management, and representing co-ops in the Combinable Crops
Committee of NFU Scotland.
Heat Recovery
Investment Produces the Goods
An investment in a bespoke Heat Recovery System at Highland
Grain has been rewarded with a saving of 28% against normal
fuel use. The system, designed by the Campbell Palmer
Partnership, takes waste heat from the drying process and
returns it to the air intake. Whilst the design is
fairly straightforward, the installation had to fit within the
existing drier building. The main contractor, John
Duncan Construction of Buckie, was working within very tight
space constraints but managed to get the system working in
time for the 2006 harvest. The staff were very pleased
with the results, although there was some experimentation to
identify optimum operational efficiency to begin with.
It is believed that the savings should increase to over 30% in
2007, now that the system is fully understood.
Fuel for Thought Seminar -
16.06.06
Highland Grain were prominent at the Cereals - Fuel for
Thought seminar at the Royal Highland Showground in Edinburgh
on 1 June 2006. Simon Barry, Chief Executive of Highland
Grain, presented a paper on Economics whilst Hamish Walls of
SAOS Ltd presented an overview of the Scoping Mission to
Denmark (sponsored by the DTI) and a paper on Future
Developments. David Palmer of the Campbell Palmer
Partnership provided an excellent overview of the science of
cereal burning whilst Robin Barron of East of Scotland Farmers
Ltd summarised the possible applications. The event was
a huge success with over 80 people registering for, and
attending, the event. A copy of the report produced by
the DTI is available by hitting the link below.
Cereals - Fuel for Thought
Crop Development -
16.06.06
After a very cold and wet spring, the spring barley crop in
the North of Scotland was sown late but into very good seed
beds. This has undoubtedly helped development which was
initially very slow due to frosts in May. This was not
helped by a wetter than normal May but June has brought some
much needed sunshine and warmth. Winter sown crops of
wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape are looking extremely
well and are either ahead of normal or at normal stage for
this time of year. They certainly have very good
potential at this point in time. Spring barley is
looking very healthy and plants are very strong but the crop
is still behind its normal stage for this time of year, by
about 10 days or so. At this stage, however, there is no
real concern over possible quality of spring crops although
yield may well be affected.
Heat Recovery Project -
16.06.06
The Directors of Highland Grain have authorised investment in
a heat recovery project which is designed to recover supply
approximately one third of the heat requirement for drying.
It is hoped that this will be operational for the 2006
harvest, which will commence sometime during the second half
of August. With high fuel costs, this is seen as major
step forward in reducing annual energy costs, whilst reducing
Carbon Dioxide emissions by around 200 tonnes annually.
Cereals: Fuel for Thought
- 19.05.06
The report on the DTI Scoping Mission (see below) is to be
launched at a seminar in Edinburgh on 1 June 2006.
The idea that cereal grains can
be used as a biomass fuel is not new but it is not well known
in the UK. This is a development which could not only
significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels for the
production of heat and electricity in both industrial and
domestic premises, but is also considerably cheaper than
fossil and wood fuels. With a surplus of cereals in
Scotland and a stable supply chain, this initiative could add
to Scotland’s great potential for generating renewable energy.
Registration information is available on the file below and
the seminar is free.
Grain
Flyer.pdf
Highland Grain on Scoping
Mission to Denmark - 19.05.06
Chief Executive of Highland Grain, Simon Barry, travelled with
colleagues from SAOS Ltd, East of Scotland Farmers Ltd, and
the Campbell Palmer Partnership on a Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) Scoping Mission to Jutland and Copenhagen in
February 2006. The purpose of the mission was to
investigate the possibility of using cereal grains as a
biomass fuel. Highland Grain uses gas oil to fuel its
grain dryers in order to dry malting barley. The price
of gas oil has more than doubled in the last three years,
increasing direct costs of the process dramatically. The
tour, which involved visiting boiler manufacturers, project
managers, academic institutions and the Danish Energy
Authority will result in a report being published by the DTI
and a seminar for knowledge transfer in June.
A Good Winter but a Poor Spring
- 19.05.06
Winter in the Highlands was one of the driest and most calm
for many years - but only until March arrived! The
normal month for sowing spring barley was blasted with wind,
rain, snow and ice, almost incessantly. Very few growers
were able to sow any crop at all until mid April, by which
time ground conditions were excellent and the crop was rapidly
sown. However, the cold weather had taken its toll.
Soils remained cold throughout April and neither barley nor
grass really grew. The result is that the crop has been
sown but it is later than usual and has been slow to develop.
However, the good conditions at sowing time will help the crop
which has a very good chance of being of good quality,
although perhaps of moderate yield.
Highland Grain Samples Win Again -
26.01.06
Two samples of Optic submitted by Highland Grain
to the 2005 Edrington Malting Barley Competition took the top
honours. A sample from W G Campbell & Sons, Newton was placed first
and a sample from Maciver Partners, Easter Strath came second out of
18 samples presented for judging by all of Edrington's barley
suppliers.
Vintage Harvest in the North -
26.01.06
The 2005 harvest turned out to be one of the best
on record in the North of Scotland. Yields exceeded all
expectations, with 7.5 tonnes/Ha of spring barley being not uncommon
on the best land. Wheat yields were also exceptional, with
many crops at 10 tonnes/Ha, although oilseed rape did not fare so
well at around 3.1 tonnes/Ha for most. Quality, too, was close
to the best ever with nearly 50% of the crop averaging less than
1.4% Nitrogen (<8.75% Protein), with grain size at 42g/1000 grains,
an all time record. Hopes are high that this crop will prove
to be one of the best for Highland Grain's customers. Initial
micro malting tests indicate that it should produce a very high
spirit yield.
Highland Grain has also been able to pay a fair
price to its members, whilst also being able to place all product
with customers in a very difficult market. The value of good
customer relations, allied to delivering the right product, has
contributed to this performance, which has been welcomed by all
members. The outlook for Highland Grain and its members has
definitely been enhanced as a result.
Ergot No Longer a Problem at Highland Grain
- 02.06.05
The installation of a Colour Sorter at
Highland Grain in February of 2005 has yielded excellent
results. Over 700 tonnes of malting barley have been
saved from the 2004 harvest with this innovation, only the
second such installation in the UK. The Satake Alphascan,
bought from ESM (UK) Ltd in Stockport, can remove 99.99% of
ergots and has certainly done its job at Highland Grain.
With a nil tolerance in malting barley and a maximum of 0.005%
by weight in UK feed barley, any ergot infection could thus
render the whole value of any bulk as being worthless. A
recent study has shown that the incidence of ergot in the UK
may be increasing and so this investment by the members of
Highland Grain, having already shown its worth, could pay
handsome dividends in the future.
Slow Crop Development - 02.06.05
With a wide spread of spring barley sowing
dates (2nd week of March to 3rd week in April), crop
development has been somewhat variable. Most crops in
Easter Ross were sown in March and most on the Black Isle in
April. The Easter Ross crops are looking well and have
progressed more or less as hoped. The Black Isle is
slower, reflecting the cool day time temperatures, occasional
frosts and regular rainfall. Noon temperatures in March
and April of 2005 have averaged at least one degree Celsius
below the same months in 2004 and the differential in
night-time temperatures is thought to be greater. The
weather has been in an unsettled pattern, with few breaks,
since June of 2004 with rainfall in the last 12 months a full
100mm more than normal. A good spell of weather is now
required to help crops develop normally. Winter crops
are also variable, with many suffering from wet conditions at
sowing time, although, in general, they have developed well.
New Grain Store Nears Completion
- 02.06.05
In the last month, the roof sheeting has
been completed, the concrete floor laid and all of the
equipment has been installed. Work has started on the
grain walls and the electrical wiring is due to commence on 6
June. In an amazing feat of construction engineering,
nearly the whole concrete floor (approx. 1400 square metres)
was laid in 24 hours and the result appears to be first class.
The target completion date is 30 June and it looks like this
will be met. Staff moved into the new office building on
16 May, although some work remained to be done in the
laboratory, which is scheduled to move on 3 June. Recent
pictures, taken by Jim Whiteford on a rare sunny day, are
shown below.
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