Well-known Scottish milk buyer, Graham’s The Family Dairy, has received £1.4m from the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation (FPMC) grant scheme, according to figures released by the Scottish Government.

That is part of more than £10m being invested to to improve supply-chain efficiency, increase production and run feasibility studies in food and drink businesses across Scotland. A total of 33 businesses will receive grants ranging from £16,000 to £1.4m.

Projects include capacity building for a dairy farm to meet the growing demand for its soft cheese, setting up of a new venison processing operation and installation of solar panels at a butcher premises to reduce carbon footprint and minimise electricity costs. Those with awards include:

Graham’s The Family Dairy, Stirling

Award £1,400,331 – This project involves the purchase of equipment across the company’s Glenfield and Airthrey Kerse dairies, to increase consumer demand for milk and soft cheese products.

Trade Solutions, Blairgowrie

Awarded £620,070 – The soft fruit processor received the grant for construction of a new fruit storage, packing and defrosting facility. The new building will also include laboratory space and staff welfare facilities.

Mackintosh of Glendaveny, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £908,426 – To invest in plant and equipment for consumer rapeseed oil production.

Highland Meats, Ayrshire

Awarded £883,774 – To upgrade processing capacity and efficiency.

Aberdeen and Northern Eggs, Farmlay Eggs, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £740,077 – This involves the construction of a new packing/fulfilment/storage/dispatch building, which will enhance overall efficiency and free up space in the main packing building to allow for additional throughput and facilitate increased production.

Paul Webber, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £1,126,085 – This small grain processor is expanding its existing barley conditioning and laboratory testing capability. The company wants increased energy efficiency with a fully insulated conditioning (drying) facility alongside the expansion of the existing laboratory. They are also upgrading their weighbridge system and input/output holding facility at Tyrie Mains Farm.

William Lean, Highlands

Awarded £829,003 – Construction of a new technically advanced barley testing and conditioning (drying) facility. The new facility includes a laboratory, weighbridge, dust extraction systems, and a range of new technically advanced equipment, eg, germination assay equipment, scales, desktop oven, etc.

AH and HA Brown, Dumfries and Galloway

Awarded £63,163 – Project includes a number of improvements to dairy facilities including a larger cheese vat, ice builder and pasteurising plant

J Rhind and Co, Moray

Awarded £165,570 – This potato grower is upgrading the packaging line with highly automated grading and packaging equipment. This includes a new grading line to ensure consistent size and removal of damaged product.

Ian J McIntosh, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £74,892 – The project involves the purchase and installation of new plant, and the upgrade and development of a three-room flat adjoining the applicant’s butcher premises to provide space for the preparation and par-cooking/roasting of vegetables, and installation of solar panels.

R Stewart and Co, St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company, Fife

Awarded £72,386 – This Pittenweem company is changing its former coffee shop to extend its cheesemaking capability and the coffee shop kitchen will be converted into a cutting and packing area and a new maturation area will be constructed adjacent to it

AM McLaren and Co, Fife

Awarded £387,399 – The project involves investment in purpose-built grading and storage facilities which will increase capacity and efficiency.

Oat Scotland, East Lothian

Awarded £143,527 – To significantly expand oat milk production by creating a new production facility. Costs include production plant, a chill room and joinery/electrical work.

Highland Eggs, Moray

Awarded £65,185 – For the construction of a building and purchase of pasteurisation equipment for milk processing and dairy products

Scott Millar, The Scottish Bee Company, Edinburgh

Awarded £27,565 – For developing its own in house processing facility to enable increased control of processes, stock and cost, whilst also reducing the carbon footprint of its operations.

Blackhills Farm Partnership, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £271,733 – The applicant is a potato grower and the project involves the construction of a new pack house and installation of new packing equipment including a technically advanced pack line and multi-head weigher.

Vertegrow, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £32,157 – This project involves the purchase and installation of plant and equipment designed to improve the speed and efficiency of vertical processing at the applicant’s indoor fruit and vegetable growing facility.

PHM and PP Swire, Aberdeenshire

Awarded £260,096 – This small organic family farm in south Aberdeenshire is seeking to replace an underutilised building within the farm with an organically certified butchering and processing facility, to add value to organic Scottish venison.

John Bryden (Potatoes), Perthshire

Awarded £82,679 – A potato and cereal grower hoping to replace some of its existing refrigeration units, install a multi-head weigher, conveyors and robotic palletising system to improve packaging of potatoes.

Fairlie Farming Company, Angus

Awarded £294,991 – This family arable unit is setting up a new potato grading and washing facility with onsite optical sorting. The company is seeking a specific, advanced optical sorting technology that can sort for quality, skin finish and colour, which has not historically been possible on unwashed potatoes.

R and RB Cunningham, Ayrshire

Awarded £355,564 – The project involves the conversion of an existing farm shed into a new processing dairy at Mossgiel Organic Farm.

Lazy Day Foods, Lanarkshire

Awarded £56,640 – Involving the purchase and installation of plant and machinery at a manufacturing facility to make 'free from' and vegan food products, intending to increase capacity to enable increased production volumes of specialist baked goods free of gluten, wheat, milk and lactose

Wild Jura, Argyll

Awarded £43,026 – To set up a venison processing operation and establish a reliable local supply chain for deer culled on the island each year. The project will kit out a commercial shed with the equipment required to process and deliver venison locally.

W Brewster and Son, Stirling

Awarded £99,250 – This project involves the construction of a milk processing facility and purchase and installation of associated dairy processing equipment.

Mark Hewitt, South Lanarkshire

Awarded £119,776 – To invest in additional grading/packaging and storage facilities for increased volume of eggs produced and processed.

East Lothian Eggs, East Lothian

Awarded £207,553 – Seeking to double its output by expanding the current egg packing facilities, creating a new loading dock and installing new automated equipment for egg transfer and grading.

IC Gilmour and Son, South Ayrshire

Awarded £72,712 – To allow this dairy farm to build a processing and storage facility for milk to be sold onsite.

A Massie and Son, Forres

Awarded £65,037 – This potato farming business is building a professional office/training facility that will support its strategy of meeting the exacting requirements of final retail packers.

Albert Bartlett and Sons, Airdrie

Awarded £319,694 – For the purchase and installation of two optical sizing and quality grader machines that will operate on two lines at the company’s fresh potato processing facility.

Aberdeen Grain Storage, Newmachar

Awarded £232,011 – The grain storage and marketing co-operative is developing and upgrading its cleaning, drying and dressing equipment to improve grain processing.

Nether Pratis Farming Company, Leven

Awarded £33,920 – This start-up dairy farming business is purchasing and installing a milk processing facility at a local farm shop, Blacketyside, to sell milk directly to the public.