YORKSHIRE farmer Alex Guthe has highlighted the role that miscanthus is now playing in his business – as bedding for his 2500 strong pig herd.

The fourth-generation farmer has a 360-acre arable unit at Baker Farmyard, Nether Silton, Thirsk, in North Yorkshire, which is around 250 feet above sea level. He has been harvesting miscanthus there for four years.

“Our family farm goes back through the generations, like many around here," said Mr Guthe. "We have an arable farm with mainly wheat, barley, oats, beans and grass. Our miscanthus crop was first sown in 2019 and by 2023 we will have 42 acres of it. I would definitely recommend miscanthus to other farmers,” he said, “It works really well for me.”

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Alex contract rears pigs and finds that his mixture of arable and livestock complements each other very well. The miscanthus variety he is growing is Terravesta Athena, which generally takes its first harvest in year two and reaches maturity faster than standard miscanthus giganteus.

“Our miscanthus second cut yielded 3.5 tonnes per acre, which we used for bedding for all of our pigs and we have a lot of them. Our 2500 bacon pigs are contract reared inside and go to Malton Bacon Factory in Malton, North Yorkshire, and all of our miscanthus goes into providing their bedding.”

Alex said that the Miscanthus was highly absorbent and more woody than cereal straw, which the larger pigs can deal with.

This innovative of miscanthus will be on display during a breakfast farm walk this week, on Thursday, September 29, organised by Terravesta.

Running from 9.30 am – 11.30 am, at Baker Farmyard, Nether Silton, Thirsk YO7 2LF, it is open to anyone interested in the crop.