A GROUP of Angus cereal farmers, determined to secure a better future, have announced their intention to build a £14million grain storage and drying facility at Hillside.
The ambitious proposal for the 90,000-tonne operation – which would process and hold malting barley, wheat, oilseed rape or oats - was announced by the Angus Cereal Partnership last week.
If the plan wins the approval of the local authority's pl
anning committee, it would be sited adjacent to Greencore's Glenesk Maltings on Kinnaber Road, which itself uses 62,000 tonnes of barley every year to make the malt needed for whisky.
The facility would be owned by farmers but run on their behalf by Grainfarmers, the national farmer-owned co-operative and the UK's largest grain merchant.
Plans for the development are expected to be submitted this week, but the partnership have already embarked on a campaign to secure widespread support from farmers to get commitment to supply the 90,000 tonnes of cereal production annually.
Local farmers would benefit from smaller haulage fees. The new facility would ensure crops are collected off the farm within 48 hours of harvest - ensuring greater quality of product - and are dried professionally at cost.
Glenesk Maltings would benefit from the removal of 76,000 of unnecessary food miles per year, as grain would be directly transported from storage via conveyor belt rather than by lorry.
Four jobs are expected to be created by the development.
The cost of the facility is expected to be met partly by direct contributions from farmers, partly by a 10 year bank loan and partly by grant aid from the Scottish Government using EU funds from the Scottish Rural Development Plan.
The steering group say that, with the total cost estimated at £145 per tonne, farmers' initial contribution will be approximately £40 per tonne.
That would secure a right to deliver to a facility which will be owned in its entirety by ACP on land secured under a 99 year lease.
Grainfarmers Scottish general manger, Bruce Ferguson, said the development would provide a 'considerable' benefit to the local economy and would give consumers and producers greater transparency when tracing the source of their product.
The steering group are set to visit Hillside Community Council next week to discuss the plans in more detail with village residents. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at Hillside Village Hall on Wednesday at 7.30pm.
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