Demand for rye for AD plants hitting cereal sales

Scottish seed industry ‘losing out’

The drive to grow rye for Scotland’s new wave of anaerobic digestors plants (ADs) is having a knock-on impact on Scottish cereal seed sales.

It is anticipated that 45 of the 56 new AD plants in development in Scotland will require 18,000 acres of arable land, equivalent to 1,350 tonnes of cereal seed.

However, the crop of choice for the plants is hybrid rye and most of the seed used in Scotland is imported from Germany.

According to Lorne Watson, the managing director of Alexander Harley Seeds of Milnathort, the Scottish industry is losing out.

Speaking at a meeting of the Agricultural Industries Confederation in Edinburgh, Mr Watson said: “We can’t grow seed crops with hybrid value in the north. It’s just too cold, wet and windy here, so the Scottish seed industry is losing out on that market and we’re losing value share as a result of that.”

Turning to seed control products, Mr Watson said the industry was facing a ban on Deter following the EU Commission’s proposed ban on all outdoor neonicotoid seed treatments in non nee-attractive crops such as cereals.

Deter is used primarily to control aphids and the spread of BYDV, but also protects against wireworms and slug boring.

“BYDV is a major threat to crop yield in Scotland and without Deter seed treatment, farmers are going to have to do one or two extra sprays of insecticide, probably at flowering stage, which means a higher financial cost to farmers but also a higher environmental impact on other insects,” said Mr Watson.

“Not many farmers know they could lose Deter. The whole Scottish farming industry should be fighting this proposal.”

New AD plants like this one at Peacehill Farm, near Wormit, top, are fuelling a drive to grow rye. Above: Lorne Watson.