THE PRESS AND JOURNAL 8 RENEWABLES Farming Saturday,April 5, 2014 RENEWABLES/COMMENT 9

RODDY CATTO

wish I could start my first column for the Press and Journal with better news. Many of you will be I fed up hearing about Common Agricultural Policy reform. The European commissioner had indicated that could put up to 5% extra into coupling on our rough grazing land –taking our coupling potential up to 13% –so that the money could be directed to active producers. It could save the budget being drained on those rough grazing acres not producing food. The idea also went a long way to addressing the issue of “slipper” farmers. It appears that nothing in politics is certain and after Commissioner Ciolos told Richard Lochhead it was a workable solution, he has, within the space of a few weeks, changed his mind. After this bombshell, I have no doubt the union’s president, Nigel Miller, will be calling us back to Inglis- ton. I personally feel we need to get the Scottish Govern- ment, Mr Ciolos and their officials into a room with the NFUS board and not let them leave until we have a so- lution. In explaining the importance of Cap to the north-east and Highlands, my predecessor as regional chairman, Charlie Adam, had an excellent piece on television this week on what the deal might mean for those with cattle and spring barley. He even managed to get one of his coos to calve for the camera but he was splitting hairs a wee bit when he complained about only getting a heifer calf. As a dairy- man I could be doing with having a few more calves with “pump and tool bag” missing. I totally agree with Charlie’s points on greening and a three-crop rule and what that means to our growers. It is ill thought out and not very environmentally £1.25m biomass project friendly. With a growing whisky industry and a demand for malting barley, many mixed farming family farms are going to fall foul of this three-crop rule if their ro- tation is based around grass and malting barley. If they are not allowed to grow the tonnage wanted gets grain co-op fired up by our maltsters, it will be imported from across the border or farther afield. Where is the environmental- friendliness in this when a Scottish-grown product can TURNING UP HEAT: Grain managing director Bruce Ferguson at the farmers’co-operative’s base where a £1.25million investment in biomass boilers has taken place. supply a Scottish market on its doorstep with virtually BY GEMMA MACKENZIE which is being installed by Rapid Similar boilers have since been ers, which suck the air through Photographs: Colin Rennie no food miles? ProjectDevelopment and is setto installed by farmers across the UK, them to dry the grain. Looking on the bright side, we have had one of the orth-east farmers co-opera- be commissioned at the end of this although the scheme at Aberdeen Mr Seed said: “Water comes out easiest winters on record. Grass has hardly stopped tive Aberdeen Grain has month, will cut fossil fuel bills by Grain is by far Topling’s biggest at about 100 degrees and comes growing all winter, there has been a good start to lamb- N taken a leap into the world around £600,000 a year. project to date. back in around 70 degrees heating ing and calving and a lot of sowing done in ideal con- of renewables following a And according to calculations by Aberdeen Grain’s scheme incor- the air (in the drier) to 55 de- ditions. £1.25million investment in Topling, the scheme will also re- porates three 2MW multi-fuel boil- grees.” That is helping to take the mind off the Cap debacle. biomass boilers. duce Aberdeen Grain’s annual car- ers, which will be fuelled with He said the scheme would not What would our dear departed friend Joe Watson In fact, the project, which has bon footprint by around 1,300 woodchip sourced from alocal have been feasible had the govern- have had to say about this latest development? His been fully funded with capital from tonnes a year. north-east supplier. ment not increased the support larger-than-life character is sorely missed and our some of the co-operative’s 186 Mr Ferguson said: “Weare fu- Mr Seed said the boilers operate payment it offers larger biomass thoughts are with his family. members, could be described as an ture-proofing the business. It just a gasification and combustion pro- schemes under the Renewable But, like the seasons, things move on and can I thank example of the farming world’s takes that risk out and makes the cess, which means they can be fed Heat Incentive (RHI). new farming correspondent Gemma and the Press and very own version of crowd fund- business more resilient. Aberdeen with different fuels including Previously the government of- Journal for their continued commitment to covering ing. Grain would certainly be at the lower-grade wood. fered support of 1p/kWh of heat the food and farming sector. Managing director Bruce Fergu- forefront of grain storageand de- He said: “This is amulti-fuel generated for schemes over son said the investment will help velopment in Scotland. We are part boiler for wood with a walking 1,000kW in size. This has since in- ■ Roddy Catto is a future-proof the business, which of a selectfew thatis leading the creased to 2p/kWh of heat gener- dairy farmer at handles around 80,000 tonnes of wayin terms of trying to move “It just takes that risk ated, which Mr Seed described as Hillhead of grain and oilseed rape every year. things forward.” the “game changer” for the Ab- Muirton, “We looked at biomass various The farmer co-op originally got out and makes the erdeen Grain project. Whitecairns. He is times over the years but we could approval from the banks to lend to- business more He added: “All the RHI did was NFU Scotland never really make it stack up be- wards the scheme, however this resilient” underpin the lending thatthe north-east cause some of the figures coming was not necessary after members members were making.It made it regional chairman back to us didn’t quite work out,” opted to fully fund the whole pro- payback.” he added. ject on a six-year payback period. floor feeding through an auger and Aberdeen Grain’s biomass pro- However, following discussions Topling managing director John apushing system to agasification ject follows considerable invest- with specialistbiomass business Seed, who runs a mixed farming pot at 1,400 degrees centigrade.” ment –around £11million –in its Topling, the co-op opted for a be- business near Duns in the Borders, He said the wood is burned, cre- facilities at Whiterashes since spoke6MW system to provide heat said the scheme made Aberdeen ating 80% gas which is then carried 2009. for three of its grain driers at its base Grain more competitive. through to the boiler for burning, Mr Ferguson said the co-opera- at Whiterashes in . He started the Topling business with a special multi-cyclone system tive is also installing two new grain It plans to hook up the boilers to after returning to the family farm used to takethe ash out of the silos to add extra storagecapacity a fourth drier for harvest in 2015. in 2008, following a career working smoke and then up a flue. to its books, and there is scope to “We use anything, depending on away in the renewables industry. The boilers then heatwater for build more grain driers in the fu- the season, between 750,000 and This resulted in him designing an extensive radiator system, ture to sit alongside the newboil- 1million litres of fuel per annum. Europe’s largest straw-fuelled which is stored in two 55,000-litre ers. That’s our largest variable cost,” batch boiler –950kW in size –to tanks, at around 100 degrees centi- Theco-operative is holding an said Mr Ferguson. power the farm’s grain drier, free- grade. open day on Thursday, May 29, for He said the newboiler scheme, range egg unit, farmhouse and Thehot water is then pumped farmers to come and see the boilers in farm buildings. through radiators in the grain dri- action.