Miscanthus Growers Limited Go For Growth
Miscanthus Growers Limited, the national growers group - owned and managed by growers and members accounts for the majority of Miscanthus grown throughout East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, the Midlands and the North West.
Director Tom Nash confirmed that they represent growers in all aspects of the crop. “We promote the interests of Miscanthus on policy and practical issues with the RPA and Natural England. We are introducing rhizome growers, lifters, planters, cane growers, contractors, co-firing and combined heat and power end users and investors to facilitate opportunities and new projects across the country at all levels of the supply chain”.
Miscanthus is the fastest growing biomass crop and the most beneficial for the widest variety of farmers and soil types – it is the easiest to grow and the simplest to harvest, bale, transport and handle.
On the green agenda, Miscanthus has a low carbon footprint and is a perennial crop with an annual harvest. It needs little or no inputs, has a high calorific value, provides better biodiversity than conventional cropping and is eminently suitable for both co-firing on a national level and combined heat and power projects on a local level.
The Energy Crop Scheme provides 50% of the first two years establishment costs and Mr Nash confirmed that “MGL has negotiated index linked contracts with Drax and Ely power stations and we have others desperately wanting cane. Our contracts have very quick collection and payment terms, are light on red tape and have the highest prices currently available backed by the security of a good term with annual upward only price adjustments. We even have finance available for the balance of the initial planting costs so that there need be no investment or loss of income for the first two years”.
At £57 per oven dried tonne indexed linked ex farm (50 mile radius) the NNFCC (http://www.nnfcc.co.uk) crop calculator shows Miscanthus with a higher net margin than all but the very best first wheat yields and it can achieve this off more marginal land. Pelleting and briquetting for boiler use is coming on stream and will provide a higher price going forward.
Rob Wood of Drax says that “the guys at MGL have done a fantastic job of pulling all the growers together and creating a simple and effective platform for us to deal with moving forward on a sound footing backed by our commitment”
Neil Pickard of ADAS (http://www.adas.co.uk) an established rhizome supplier also confirmed that “MGL is really helping growers focus on the crops potential and we hope to sell a lot more rhizome locally rather than export it as a result of their promotion of the crop”. Keith Wilson of International Energy Crops (http://www.energycrops.com) who is the countries largest rhizome grower agrees. He has coordinated much of the harvesting in the north and has seen a real growth in crop tonnage this year and has developed precision planting.
William Cracroft-Ely a fellow board member who farms north of Lincoln is so pleased with how it has performed and raised the profitability across his whole enterprise that he is planting more next spring. “We are seeing existing growers increasing their planting and new growers coming forward all the time.”