Cereals

Scotch Whisky is made from just three natural ingredients: – water, yeast and cereals. Quality cereals are central to the success of Scotch. The industry supports Scottish agriculture that supplies some of the best grain anywhere in the world.

The majority of the industry’s barley and wheat requirements are sourced in Scotland. The Scottish climate lends itself to quality barley production and that, combined with good agronomic practice, makes Scottish barley very attractive to distillers.

The Association maintains strong relationships with the cereals supply chain. We welcome close collaboration on supply trends, demands for Scotch, evolving quality requirements for cereals varieties, industry best-practice and policy developments. We annually publish a Cereals Technical Note to help achieve a common understanding of the importance and use of cereals within the industry.

This collaborative work helps to ensure the supply chain, and especially plant breeders and growers, understand the industry's present needs and the opportunities for growth, not only for Scotch Whisky but for our cereal suppliers.

As a key user of barley in Scotland, the Scotch Whisky industry has a duty to support an effective policy environment and changing farming practices in collaboration with farmers, suppliers and regulators. With the right approach, reducing emissions in cereal production has the added benefit of protecting and enhancing the biodiversity and soil health of arable land, not only reducing emissions but enhancing the environment of our farming landscapes.   

As a crucial step in our industry achieving true Net Zero (across Scopes 1 to 3), it is vital that we significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our grain supply chains.

Innovation and Research

The future success of the industry is reliant on a resilient and sustainable Scottish grain supply. Breeding future cereal varieties fit for a new system of farming and the changing climate is key to realising that future. SWA members are supporting cutting edge research for a sustainable malting barley supply chain. The BARIToNE programme is a £3.6Billion BBRC and industry funded seven year programme of PhDs led by the Scotch Whisky Research Institute (SWRI) and the International Barley Hub (The Hutton Institute). SWA members are funding 9 PhDs researching the medium-long term challenge of maintaining a sustainable supply of local high-quality barley, produced using fewer inputs and having fewer environmental impacts

The MAGB supports the publication of the Scotch Whisky Industry Sustainably Strategy 2040 which it considers as ambitious and in line with government targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions. As a major supplier to the scotch whisky industry, the sustainability goals within the malting sector are crucial to helping SWA achieve its targets.

INDUSTRY & ACADEMIA COLLABORATION: BARIToNE PROJECT

INTRODUCING BARIToNE

Seeking to reduce environmental impacts across all sectors of the barley supply and value chain, the BARIToNE CTP comprises 18 industrial and 7 academic collaborating partners and will fund 42 PhD studentships over 7 years. 

The research focus of this CTP is driving down the environmental footprint of primary production while maintaining a sustainable supply of high-quality barley

Dr James Brosnan, Scotch Whisky Research institute, explains. Below, explore three individual PhD projects from Kira Lutter, George Epaku and David Ashworth.

KIRA LUTTER

Moving towards Net-Zero barley production 

GEORGE EPAKU

Defining the genetic basis of barley metabolite content to improve nutrient use efficiency, crop quality and resilience with reduced inputs

DAVID ASHWORTH

Can we develop novel algae fertilisers from whisky co-products to produce barley sustainably?

FURTHER CASE STUDIES