MARTIN BIRSE is farm manager at Pitgaveny, a 2000 hectare chunk of Morayshire land stretching north from Elgin to Lossiemouth. It is his responsibility to see that 900 of those hectares are productively farmed – and it is a responsibility he takes very seriously.

Pitgaveny has several unique features, giving it a character all of its own. Some aspects are a boon to the farming operation, while others are a distinct disability. But, as Martin notes, no two farms are ever alike, and it is the job of a good farmer to make the most of the hand that he is dealt.
The estate has at its heart Spynie Palace, a 12th century stronghold that played a pivotal role in Moray coast politics for many centuries after its construction. It also, somewhat remarkably, had a pier for the landing of goods and chattels – in Spynie’s heyday, the tower stood next to a sea loch, allowing boat access some two miles further south than is now possible.
Examining the farm map spread across the kitchen table in his house, Martin indicates the northern half of the property: “Much of that was all under water until the owners put in the first canal in the 1700s to drain the land and reclaim it,” he explained.
“In the 1970s, the canal was upgraded, to drain about 25 square miles of land throughout the Laich of Moray more effectively. It is still maintained by a number of landowners under a statutory scheme – we pay a percentage of the maintenance calculated on the amount of land that it has improved on Pitgaveny.”
This set-up means that this part of Pitgaveny is criss-crossed by field drains, that use a number of pumping stations, which are essential to clear the below-sea-level ditches into the canal.
So what has several aeons under the North Sea done for the agricultural character of this stretch of the Moray coast?
“To the west, up to Duffus and Gordonstoun, they have a nice clay loam that will grow permanent wheat,” notes Martin, somewhat enviously. “We’ve been left with sand and clay, and it can be quite wet. So the worst of that is mostly permanent grazing – cow land.”
Thankfully, in the grand patchwork of farming at Pitgaveny, Martin has need of a bit of cow land, because the business model he has adopted is that of diligently spreading risk, with the farm’s available resources and assets invested across a broad range of crops and stock, ensuring that the bottom line is not unduly exposed to volatility in any one market.
But this is not just a matter of planting a field of this, and then a field of that alongside, just in case. The rotation plan that Martin oversees is fiendishly complex, with the success of many crops interdependent upon others, and the management of it all planned to near-clockwork precision.
A central complication in the business plan is that, unusually, Pitgaveny has substantial tracts of both conventionally farmed and organic land, with 600 hectares getting the benefit of modern farming’s remaining chemical armoury, and 300 hectares managed in accordance with the certifying body’s hefty handbook.
I put it to Martin that he is, then, clearly not an organic farmer by conviction?
“It is a niche market. People who buy organic food want it grown that way, so if the market is there, I am happy to grow to that specification,” he admits.
“But there are some organic ideas that we use on the conventional crops. The two systems are not incompatible. Coming from an intensive background, you tend to use all available aids on the crop, so if something looks like it’ll help, we’ll adopt it, whether it’s an organic technique or not.
“One easily adapted organic method is the use of clover in grass leys to reduce purchased nitrogen.”
Pitgaveny farms grows organic potatoes, carrots and parsnips in joint venture arrangements with several other specialist growers.
“They have the specialist equipment for those crops, and we have the suitable land required to grow the crop. We have an overall budget, look at the value we each put into it, then divide the value accordingly,” he explains.
Both crops are sold via processors to the major supermarkets. But whatever the destination, if it is going under an organic label, the rules are watertight.
“Only certain organic crop inputs are allowed. Basically, we are forbidden to use anything unless we can show a need. The starting point is a soil analysis – typically, the soils here are high in phosphate, low in potassium and trace elements like sulphur, copper and manganese.
“Derogation may be requested for certain inputs. For example, we’d generally plant blight resistant potatoes for these conditions, but if the demand is for salad potatoes, which tend to be less blight resistant, then when a ‘Smiths period’ is predicted we need to ask to apply Cupricult (a product containing copper oxychloride). A derogation request is considered by our certifying body and, if granted, is then given in writing and then forms part of the audit trail which is inspected annually.”
The profitability of the carrots or potatoes crop is very dependent on packability – the actual percentage sold to supermarkets.
“A rough rule of thumb is a packability rate of roughly 50% of conventional yields, so you need that premium on price,” he adds. Later, out in the field, Martin indicates the depth of straw that goes over the carrots to keep them through the winter – slightly above waist high on a grown man – a winter blanket that consumes an extraordinary 1000 Heston bales per 10 hectares of carrots.
On the conventional side, Pitgaveny grows 176 hectares of malting barley – new malting variety Concerto and old favourite Optic, getting 6 to 7 tonnes per ha. As Martin points out, the farm is “right at the heart” of the Scotch whisky trail, and it is inevitably a big part of the business. Alongside these low nitrogen malting barleys, he grows smaller quantities of the high nitrogen varieties Catriona and Belgravia, which yield an enzyme useful to the coarse grain alcohol makers at Invergordon.
The Pitgaveny wheat crop also goes for distilling, and Martin’s choice is Istabraq, which he finds to be “a bit of a cactus – not the highest yielder, but it survives drought well.”
“In theory, we are a bit dry here, with the effect of the Gulf Stream curling over the top of Scotland and hitting the Moray coast,” he adds. “But with climate change, we have been seeing more northerlies and more rain than in years past, and that has lifted yields. That said, we’ve just had six weeks of drought, to the extent that we had to irrigate the potatoes, which incurs extra costs.”
Returning to discussion of the cereals job, on the subject of malting barley, Martin was pleased to report that this year, for the first time, on limited tonnage, contracts were available where it was linked with the future price of wheat, plus £15-20 per tonne.
“Of course, if you went in and took that deal when the future price for November wheat was at £115, you’ll be getting £135 – who was to know that the November future price was going all the way up to £130? Volatility is the big word in cereals these days,” he said. 
“That is why the whole thing is about risk management. When you plant, you don’t know what is going to be working by the time you harvest, so you grow all these different crops hoping to achieve a happy average from the things that work.
“And of course, you are also guessing with the Single Farm Payment and the euro – a lot of money can be made and lost on that, through no fault in your farming.”
In this uncertain climate, Martin swears by the value of good advice, and is enthusiastic about the services offered by both the Homegrown Cereals Authority – “very useful” – and the Scottish Agricultural College – “excellent, couldn’t do without them”. He has several other regular advisers, under a variety of arrangements, for particular crops, and swears by the value of the weekly crop walks.
“There is lot of good information out there to base informed decisions upon – and you really need to use all of it, because at the end of the day, you’ve got to make your own mind up,” he adds.
Similarly, Martin is keen on speaking with his customers, and seeks to build cordial relationships: “We want to be seen as a quality producer, and one that will strive to meet a buyer’s expectations. But it has to be a two-way dialogue, because if we are not getting the price we need, we have other options.”
Of course, one of those other options is livestock, and there are plenty animals on Pitgaveny. As this is an arable feature, we will not dwell on the 200 conventional suckler Simmentals, or 500 organic ewes, all raised and finished on home grown grass, oats, winter barley, beans and roots, and destined for various discerning buyers.
Nor shall we discuss in detail the outdoor pig herd, operated under lease on Pitgaveny, which is still very much a part of the overall puzzle, rotating through the fields doing their own very thorough job of weeding and fertilising.
However, there is another set of animals that are important to the entire Pitgaveny operation – its wildlife.
One relic of its undrained past is the landlocked remnant of Loch Spynie, still a substantial body of water, which plays host to many thousands of overwintering Greylag geese. With that wildlife feature at the heart of his farmland, Martin long ago made the pragmatic decision to embrace the conservation ethos, and make it part and parcel of the business.
Remember that network of field drains? For an operation with more than a little spraying on its to-do list, those drains could have been a permanent irritant, but buffered up by uncultivated beetle banks and hedging, they become a real wildlife asset.
“We do a large amount of conservation work under SRDP, and before that the rural stewardship scheme,” says Martin. “With grass margins along all our waterways, we don’t have to worry about spray drift, because the machines can’t get anywhere near.
“We have about 30 hectares in wetlands, heathlands, scrub and tall herb, bird cover, hedging, natural woodlands etc. We’ve tried to use it to our advantage, knit it into the fabric of the place We would have needed physical barriers like that between the organic and conventional crops anyway.”
SRDP grant applications are difficult, with the goal posts changing all the time – but Pitgaveny gets hedges and windbreaks out of it, which are good for the stock and for stopping the lighter sandy soil from shifting, and it all adds to the quality of the place.
“And, you know, working out here every day, it is good to see the wildlife, the birds and the added colour around the fields, rather than just presiding over something that looks industrial,” adds Martin.
“In the end it’s all about food – and I’d like to think anyone would look at this place and be happy to know that this was where their food was coming from.”