Whisky Success for Barley Growers
Orkney College's Agronomy Institute was opened in June 2002. It was set up to provide a crop based research and development facility, specialising in northern temperate plant species for the Highland and Islands area of Scotland.
Agricultural diversification is a priority for the economic development of the region and the Institute has developed a programme to address this. This includes:
• Identifying new crops
• Screening those crops with growers and commercial users
• Encouraging the development of new supply chains
The Institute has established relationships with a range of companies and organisations throughout the Highlands and Islands, including the Highland Park distillery, based on Orkney. Together, Peter Martin (Director of the Agronomy Institute) and Russell Anderson (Highland Park Distillery Manager) identified an opportunity to develop the growing of malting barley on the island.
This could be processed in the maltings retained by the distillery on the Islands to produce a hand turned malt in the traditional way and which would then be used to distil an all Orkney whisky.
With C2 support, this novel and innovative whole supply chain trial was able to get underway.
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