This month we’re announcing a number of changes to the grower contracts.
The reason for this is that our continued efforts to source new market opportunities for miscanthus are gaining pace.
Consequently, we’ve moved away from processing miscanthus pellets for power generation, to supplyingwhole bale power stations and one of the main outlets is Brigg based renewable energy plant, eco2.
And while a low moisture content is still key – with growers still be rewarded for dry bales with a moisture content below 16% – there are new areas of focus for bale specifications that must be adhered to, or growers may face rejections.
New bale specifications:
As well as meeting the moisture specification, large hesston bales must meet size specifications:
Bales must be the correct size, shape and have no strings missing.
Ensuring bales are the right size means more economical haulage, it means that they are easier to unload and most importantly, the plant won’t reject them.
Decent bale weight means reduced haulage costs:
Using the ‘economies of scale’ that Terravesta can command, we’re now managing logistics and paying for haulage by the load, not by the tonne, with savings being passed on to growers.
What we need is high quality, compacted bales. So growers need to make sure that the contractor is getting a good bale weight and not baling too quickly.
We deduct the haulage cost from the price per tonne back to the grower and to reduce these deductions, bale weight is key. Therefore the onus on bale quality and weight is purely down to the grower.
The price deducted per tonne according to bale weight is:
For bales that weigh 501 – 525 kilos £2/tonne will be deducted to the price per tonne back to grower
For bales that weigh 416 – 500 kilos its £3/tonne
For bales that weigh 400 – 475 kilos its £5/tonne
Terravesta organise haulage and collections on behalf of the grower, the price is paid to hauliers per load, so the resulting tonnage price for haulage varies massively depending on the weight of your bales.
For example, load weights can vary between 18-22 tonnes per vehicle. If this one load cost £300, the price would vary between £13-16/tonne. Be sure to put the onus on your contractor for decent quality bales and show them the bale specification in your contract if you have any doubts.
Potential to deliver smaller high density bales
We’re going to vary the contract for the growers so they can deliver 4′ x 3′ higher density bales. Terravesta will update on this with the new specification information in due course.
Lastly – thank you for your patience
Due to the fact that harvest is six to eight weeks late, that’s how far behind collections are.
We’ll try to communicate collection dates and times with growers in advance and your patience regarding this is hugely appreciated.
If you have any questions please get in touch: alexr@terravesta.com
