Perthshire farmer sees potential in hybrid rye

Frustrated by the performance of winter barley and no longer able to grow oilseed rape due to clubroot infection, Colin Mitchell, farm manager at Meikleour Estate in Perthshire, believes hybrid rye is a rewarding discovery.

Meikleour Estate covers about 800 hectares and its fertile loam soils support a diverse range of crops including potatoes, energy beet and carrots, but like most farmers across the country, winter cereals form the basis of the rotation.

Spring barley and winter oats are already grown on the farm, but performance is variable, and the latter is vulnerable to frost damage.

“We discovered the benefits of a green crop by accident after leaving volunteers to establish ahead of potato planting,” said Mr Mitchell.

“It helped counter soil slumping and the quality of tilth that followed was incredible. Whether it led to an increase in potato yield is unknown, but the land was far easier to work so we decided to take them more seriously.”.

The jury is still out on the best combination of species to use as cover crops, he says, but so far spring cereals have satisfied a range of criteria.

Oilseed rape too is no longer a practical option, at least for the foreseeable future.

Like many farmers in Scotland, Mr Mitchell’s interest in hybrid rye was aroused after he was approached by a neighbour in need of feed stock for an anaerobic digester.

“We took a conservative approach; our 25 ha was modest in comparison with what some others were putting in.

“For many, it was the most profitable crop on their farms, and it can be, but you must properly account for the potash removed. This can be as much as 285 kg/ha with a 50t/ha crop.”

As his confidence with the crop has grown, so has the sown area and this year it covers 70ha.

He said: “In 2015 the crop yielded an average 7.4t/ha though this was on some of the farm’s least productive soils. For us, it yields on a par with first wheats, but is cheaper to grow because it needs less nitrogen fertiliser and fungicide.

“It has already replaced winter barley and I’m starting to think it could replace second wheat too.”

He said the market for human consumption was limited, while other outlets need developing before the crop could appeal beyond its AD potential.

“The big opportunity is in pig food. Rye is a staple of a pig finishing rations across Germany and Denmark, because the effect of higher satiety has a positive effect on boredom levels. More interest from feed compounders or pig producers milling their own feed would encourage me to grow more.

“There is a small, but valuable market for rye as a distilling grain.

“Bourbon is an increasingly popular drink and Scotland has the distilling infrastructure to produce it so why not grow rye in Scotland for distilling in Scotland? Perhaps, someone will have the confidence to give it a go.”

Colin Mitchell, farm manager at Meikleour Estate.