Scottish barley growers show strong regen foundations, study finds

Scottish barley growers are already showing strong regenerative farming credentials, but a new supply chain study has found clear opportunities to improve soil cover and resilience.

The findings come from a project led by maltster Crisp Malt in partnership with Map of Ag, as whisky supply chains face growing pressure to demonstrate measurable environmental progress.

The project is linked to the Aberlour Growers Group, a partnership between Chivas Brothers, the Pernod Ricard business behind Aberlour Scotch whisky, Crisp Malt and associated merchants in Scotland.

Long production timelines in the whisky sector mean decisions made on farms today could influence products reaching consumers years into the future.

The programme is using the SAI Regenerating Together Framework to assess practices across barley-growing businesses, including soil health, biodiversity, water management and climate resilience.

In the first phase, growers from the Aberlour Growers Group completed detailed surveys on their current farming practices.

Ben Hunt, client technical manager at Map of Ag, who is leading the data analysis, said one of the clearest strengths was the widespread use of long-term grass leys in Scottish rotations, often followed by barley crops.

“A lot of Scottish farms still integrate livestock and arable production, with rotations that include several years of grass before returning to barley,” he said.

“That delivers clear benefits for soil carbon, soil structure and long-term resilience compared with more intensive arable-only systems.”

The study also found relatively strong uptake of Soil Mineral Nitrogen testing, with 32 percent of growers already using the practice — a higher level than the project team had expected.

Mr Hunt said the finding suggested targeted support was helping growers adopt the technique.

“The uptake of SMN testing in Scotland is encouraging and suggests government-backed funding and advisory support is helping drive adoption,” he said.

However, the survey also identified opportunities to build on that progress, particularly around soil cover.

Living roots were present for 53 percent of the year on average, showing scope to keep plants growing for longer and support soil biology. The data also showed that 72 percent of ground remained bare over winter, highlighting potential to reduce nitrate leaching and improve protection against erosion.

“There is still a significant opportunity to improve soil cover during parts of the rotation,” Mr Hunt said.

“Keeping living roots in the soil for longer could bring benefits for soil health, water infiltration and overall resilience.”

The findings also suggest regenerative farming advice needs to be tailored to Scotland, rather than lifted directly from English arable systems.

Some practices widely used in England, including aphid forecasting tools and Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus management systems, were found to be less relevant in Scotland because of different climatic conditions and pest pressures.

At the same time, several growers reported using Controlled Traffic Farming, where machinery is kept to set routes to reduce soil compaction risks during wetter harvest conditions.

Ellie Wood, sustainability manager at Crisp Malt, said the project supported the company’s long-term sustainability ambitions, as well as those of the Aberlour Growers Group.

She said the work was designed to foster collaboration with Chivas Brothers and help future-proof the livelihoods of farmers in regional Scottish communities.

“We recognise that future food and drink supply chains will increasingly need to demonstrate measurable environmental progress,” she said.

“This work is helping us understand current farming practices, identify opportunities for improvement and through close collaboration with growers, deliver practical, achievable changes in support of our shared ambition to advance regenerative agriculture.”

The programme is now moving into its next phase, where priority outcomes such as soil cover, water infiltration and biodiversity indicators will be selected for ongoing monitoring, improvement and benchmarking through repeat surveys and field assessments.

Mr Hunt said it was important that farmers could see the value of the information they had shared and how it would shape practical improvements for Scottish farming systems.

The next phase aims to turn the survey findings into practical changes that support both environmental performance and the long-term resilience of Scottish barley growers.