Based in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Silvery Tweed Cereals processes and distributes cereal and seed ingredients to the baking industry.
The commercial arm of the business is run alongside a 300ha farm, split between permanent grassland, winter wheat, spring barley, winter rye and winter linseed, with a cover crop going in ahead of spring barley to boost soil health.
Robert Gladstone, managing director, highlights how important linseed is to the business.
“We process around 5,000t of linseed each year, and historically this had to be imported. Over the past three years, we’ve been able to establish our own crop and gradually extend the hectarage, as well as work with other growers to source all the crop from the UK.”
While it is a vital crop for Silvery Tweed, Robert acknowledges that the harvesting and residue management can be difficult.
After trying to harvest with a standard cereal header, they found that the linseed straw caused blockages within the combine. Investing in a Shelbourne Reynolds stripper header solved this problem, but left the straw standing in the field.
“We don’t direct-drill, we use a combination drill after the plough, but the straw would cause the linseed to wrap around the power harrow rotors, or result in hairpinning of the seed, affecting establishment,” Robert says.
“So, we needed a way to chop that straw down to a consistent length before it was incorporated into the soil.”
cover crops © Simon Richard Limited
The right chop
The company put a few flail mowers through their paces before finding the right unit. Robert says some really struggled with the crop, with linseed straw wrapping around the bearings within an hour. Others didn’t offer the right consistency of chop, requiring additional work to be done before any cultivation or drilling could take place.
Still on the lookout for a solution, Robert heard about the Müthing MU-Pro 280 from dealer Thomas Sheriff. He arranged a demo of the machine last year, with Richard Farnie, sales manager for Müthing importer Simon Richard, in attendance, and after being convinced of its capabilities, purchased one for the 2024 harvest.
He highlights the large-diameter rotor, fitted with 24 M-DuraX flails. When combined with the continuously variable rotor speed, he says it is possible to adjust chop length, leaving an even spread of finely mulched residue. “This is ideal for the following plough, or the Simba DTX, meaning we could completely bury the linseed residue.”
Another clear advantage was the fully sealed Starinth bearings at the rear roller, which are protected from the crop.
“On some of the other flails we tested, there were some clear concerns around maintenance, because the bearings were already showing wear after the demonstration,” Robert explains. “With the Müthing, we can be confident that there won’t be any unexpected breakdowns.”
Maintenance overall has been easy, he adds. “All the greasing points are easy to get to, and the rear roller has a scraper to stop residue sticking to it. Not only that, but it’s easy to clean. We can power-wash any remaining crop out from the chopping area.”
Proving the theory
Having the right solutions for post-harvest operations was an important factor for Silvery Tweed Cereals promoting linseed to growers in the UK. “We have to be able to show what is possible, and advise when our growers are facing issues,” Robert says.
With the Müthing, he adds that they have found something that can not only be recommended to other growers, but will enable them to further increase the linseed area on the farm.
“We have it on the front of our Valtra 254, and despite it being a heavy-duty machine, it’s efficient. We have enough power available to consider increasing the working width or adding a rear unit to boost the output.”
At present, the business grows about 40ha of linseed and the Müthing can chop around 12ha of linseed straw a day, so an additional unit could double that throughput without the added capital investment in a larger tractor.
The Müthing has also proven itself to be a versatile machine across the farm. Once the linseed harvest is completed, it has been put to work across the grass margins and cover crops.
“It doesn’t just do a good job in tough, wiry crops,” Robert says. “The control of the chop length lets us mulch pretty much anything on the farm. It’s done a great job of cutting back cover crops ahead of cultivations, and on the grass margins it leaves a great, even finish without any lumps of grass.”