FARMING both sustainable energy and food is top of the agenda for Cheshire arable farmer , Andrew Worrall , who grows the carbon negative energy crop , Miscanthus , on less productive fields alongside food crops including pumpkins , triticale and cover crops for soil fertility .

Andrew hosted a farm walk with Miscanthus specialist , Terravesta , on Thursday 31 March , for other farmers interested in benefitting from the long-term profitable crop .

“ Miscanthus doesn ’ t need much management , and it ’ s contributing to UK energy security , which is now even more important . Whole bales are harvested annually and delivered to UK renewable energy power stations to power homes ,” explains Andrew .

Andrew has grown Miscanthus for many years , and decided to reinvest , planting an additional 9 hectares of Teravesta AthenaTM in 2020 . “ It grows on our less

productive fields which are we don ’ t make a profit growing cereals on , and with the rising cost of fertiliser and inputs , it seems we made the right decision – Miscanthus doesn ’ t need any fertiliser and needs minimal inputs to get established . It then grows for over 20 years , and we take an annual harvest .”

Andrew ’ s father sadly passed away in 2019 , and was growing mostly cereals . Andrew decided to plant more Miscanthus in 2020 because it ’ s so low maintenance and allows him to work full time off the farm , as he has done for many years .

“ Miscanthus gives us a reliable income and allows us to concentrate time and effort on the food crops ,” says Andrew .

“ Terravesta AthenaTM Miscanthus is a fantastic new variety , the rhizomes are delivered to the farm in good condition , and Terravesta provides the planter and planting advice . We supply the man power , and the planting was seamless ,” adds Andrew .

Andrew has a long-term fixed price retail index-linked contract with Terravesta , meaning the price goes up annually and guarantees a reliable income on difficult land .

Farmers considering planting the carbon negative crop Miscanthus can now benefit from a finance package to cover virtually all upfront costs for crop establishment , as well as new direct , long-term offtake

agreements with end-users , with 10 – 15-year index-linked annual returns .

Under the new contract , Terravesta will supply its Performance Hybrids , planting equipment and agronomy throughout the crop ’ s life , ensuring successful crop establishment by committing to a minimum number of plants emerging under its new planting promise .

“ Our current rhizome-based variety Terravesta AthenaTM delivers higher yields than the commercially available Miscanthus giganteus , a calorific value increase of 8 %, resulting in 180 % increase in energy per hectare ( megajoules ) and significant ash content reduction , all of which benefits the end-user considerably ,” explains Alex Robinson Terravesta ’ s chief operating officer .