New Angus Grain Co-op Targets Big Savings Through Collaboration

A group of farmers are planning a state of the art £14 million grain processing centre next to the Greencore Maltings at Glenesk in Angus, in a bid to unlock value all along the chain.

Speaking at a launch meeting, farmer David Fairlie of Angus Cereals pointed out that; “Although 60% of the half million tonnes of cereals produced in Angus each year is potentially top quality malting barley, most is delivered from ageing farm and third party stores that are increasingly inadequate, and are up to 42 miles and 90 minutes away from the maltings.”

Pointing out some of the advantages of the new facilities, Bruce Ferguson. Regional Manager of Grainfarmers, who will act as marketing partner said; “We should see a reduction in the order of 3 million haulage miles, in addition to much more efficient use of energy for drying and processing. These will yield significant cost savings and reductions in carbon emissions.” David Wilkes, CEO of Greencore added; “The Angus Cereals’ facility will establish a truly integrated supply chain solution for sourcing high quality malting barley. Protecting quality will lead to price optimisation from a strong relationship with a committed end user.”

Jim Booth and Bob Yuill are advising on the business structure and members agreements. SAOS has also conducted a survey of farmers in Angus and East Perthshire to provide more information on current farm stores and marketing policies, to assist the development of Angus Cereals.