Last spring David Brown and his son Iain took the bold decision to put two thirds of their 900 acres of spring barley at Burnside of Dipple into a new, relatively unknown variety. But its earliness, yield and marketability more than vindicated this decision.

To such an extent that Prestige will again replace long-established Optic on the bulk of the Morayshire farm’s 2003 acreage. And with the variety, already widely acclaimed on the continent, joining the Recommended List for the first time this year, many more UK growers seem certain to follow their example.

Attention to detail and a continual drive for technical efficiency are the joint watchwords in the Browns’ 800-head beef finishing enterprise, 1260 acres of arable cropping and contract beetroot growing for international food company, Baxters whose headquarters are right on the doorstep.

“We are at the mercy of global events in many ways but there are things we can do - letting fate dictate is certainly not acceptable,” insists David.

Nowhere is that more plain than in their arable management. Field mapping has become commonplace and individual field records are on computer, with tight control on inputs – and outputs – achieved with courtesy of the well-known Muddy Boots arable programme.

The 900 acres in spring barley receive particularly close attention, with the aim of reaching a 100% clearance for malting. The Browns farm right in the heart of whisky country just outside Fochabers and are keen to play a part in the supply of top-quality raw materials for products so closely associated with Scotland’s heritage and world-wide reputation.

On their high fertility unit – making good use of the dung from the beef cattle – David and Iain Brown try to suit the varieties they grow to their customers and to the land. They also like to keep things simple and, last year, narrowed their growing options to two varieties, Optic and Prestige. Optic has been a top performer over a number of years but trials with Prestige showed that it matured earlier and outyielded Optic by
5-10%, with fewer inputs.

“Prestige is a bold barley,” says David. “We had minimal screenings – maybe 2-3% when we first tried it. And it performed very well. Taking that into account, we made a pretty big move and put 564 acres into Prestige last year, with our remaining 320 spring barley acres in Optic.”

The Prestige seed was drilled from mid-March to the first week in April and, despite drought conditions in Moray at the end of June, gave no cause for concern. The best yield indicator comes from the Brown’s seed crop - they sold 95.36 tonnes off the 36 acres grown on contract to Glencore.

“We look after our arable crops and try to go for quality. If crops – or animals, for that matter – get a set-back in their cycle, then it’s always detrimental to output. You’ve got to nurse crops all the way through.”

Regular field walking with their consultant Ian Gordon highlights any potential problems but, once the crop is in flower, the Browns prefer to stay out of it. They are not in favour of harvest control as they feel it adds to problems with germination.

As an experiment last season, they also held back on using strobilurins on 80 acres of Prestige and found little difference with areas treated conventionally.

“It depends on the season but, on last year’s evidence, we could have reduced our costs by around £15 per acre,” says David.

All the grain is handled on farm, with an automatic mobile drier taking the malting grain down to 13.7% moisture. It is then marketed through Glencore, on the strict understanding that nothing leaves the farm without a price having been agreed.

The 2003 season will again see a split between two malting varieties, with Prestige taking the lion’s share of the acreage.

“Prestige is on this year’s HGCA recommended list and I am sure more growers will try it out,” says David Brown. “It’s performing well for us and its export potential gives it an added edge in the marketplace.”