Arable Enterprise
The following information gives a clearer insight into the way in which the arable crops are cultivated on the Estate:
Oilseed rape
- Sown in mid-August (or immediately after final harvest of winter barley)
- Swathed in late July/early August
- Combined in mid-August
- Primarily sent to Liverpool or abroad for crushing (about 42% by weight is oil, which is either refined to make cooking oil, margarine or, increasingly, used as a biofuel)
Winter barley
- Sown in mid-September
- Harvested in early August
- 150t stays on the estate for cattle feed
- Remainder sold for cattle feed or exported
Winter wheat
- Sown in late September/October
- Harvested in September
- 50t goes to gamekeepers
- Remainder sold, primarily for animal feed (chicken/egg producers, game rearers and pig finishers) and malting
- Roughly 30t of Invercrombies (residual wheat malt pellets) purchased each year as a source of protein for growing calves
Spring barley
- Sown in late March/early April
- Harvested late August/early September
- Primarily sold to whisky distilleries for malting (420-550t)
- Remainder sold as feed barley