Angus farmers call for meetingon cereal crisis

14 August 1998

Angus farmers call for meeting
on cereal crisis

ANGUS farmers have called for an emergency meeting of the Scottish National Farmers Union cereals committee in the face of mounting evidence of the worst harvest in years.

One member at the Angus NFU area meeting said that last years wheat crop was now reckoned to be the poorest for 30 years. He believed this seasons was going to be even worse.

There are question marks against the quality of the crop, with some winter barley crops producing screenings as high as 50%. There were almost no malting samples and bushel weights were exceptionally low. Bids for the crops have been as low as £53/ tonne.

The Angus meeting agreed a number of measures including an insistence that the Government make arable payments in October. Farmers also asked for an emergency package which includes a relaxation of the Intervention Boards standards, as well as an assurance that Intervention stocks will not appear on the market.

• The Scotsman 14/08/98 page 25