Sustainably Sourced Fresh Produce
Potatoes
Our potatoes are grown for the pre pack Market supplying the UK's supermarkets .
Supplying Great Produce All Year Round
The potato season starts with planting in April, and from September we start to harvest. Harvested potatoes are kept in cold storage and are graded to remove imperfections. There are now eight cold stores which can store over 17000 Tonnes. This allows us to provide potatoes all year round delivered by our own lorries.
Seed potatoes are also grown. Scotland has a great climate for the production of seed potatoes some of which are for ourselves with the remainder exported for other countries.
Arable
We grow Spring Barley for the malting markets which is turned into Scotch whisky. In addition to this, we also grow certified seed for other farmers to grow. We grow Winter Wheat which is grown for the feeding market. All grain is dried and storage on site in a purpose built grain storage facility built in 2012.
Organic Farming
Arnbog farm started its conversion into organic land in 2018. This saw the purchase of 80 stabiliser cattle. The breed was chosen due to their high efficiency in grass conversion, they have a great nature, are easily handled, while producing great calves.
The cattle utilise the grass in the rotation, improving the organic matter, soil health and fertility. The grass in this process allows for carbon sequestration.
Organic farming is not just limited to our own farm Arnbog. We annually rent organic land from other local farms. On this land we grow predominantly organic broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower as well as potatoes.
Working Together
McLaren Farms are looking for farmers and landowners with organic land for the growing of brassica crops. If this would be of interest, please get in touch.
Brassicas
Since 1999, McLaren Farms has been part of the farmer owned cooperative, East of Scotland Growers (ESG).
East of Scotland Growers provides the business with essential planning, agronomy and technical advice as well as marketing our produce.
East of Scotland Growers is a cooperative with 16 growers. This allows our produce to be marketed collectively which brings multiple advantages such as pricing, spreading costs and the geographical spread guarantees continuous supply throughout the growing season.
In 2020 we built a purpose-built packhouse for the brassicas. It has overwrapping machines and automatic equipment to allow us to grade and pack more efficiently. The site has been accredited as an organic packing site and has BRC grade AA+ certification.
Through ESG we produce organic and non-organic:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Brussel Sprouts
- Tenderstem(R)
Renewables
As a business we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, decreasing our reliance on the grid and to improve overall financial efficiency. In 2013 we decided to install solar panels onto the roof tops of our cold stores to offset high energy demand over the summer months for our potato and brassica cold stores.
To date we have 1516 solar panels installed over several roofs on 2 sites which will produce a maximum output of 410kw per hour.
As well as solar the business has three 15kw wind turbines, wind turbines have not been as efficient as solar due to the lack of wind in the Strathmore valley.
To reduce power requirements, we have also invested in extra insulation on cold stores, rapid roller doors to reduce door opening times and porches over cold store entrances. All of which minimise cold air escaping from stores and to help maintain a constant temperature.
Livestock (Non Organic)
Fintalich is where we keep the majority of the livestock. There is a herd of 110 Simmental cross beef cows and all their progeny are finished on the farm ready for market.
There is also a flock of 500 sheep and consists mainly of Scotch mules. The breeding females with all lambs are also finished on farm with most of the lamb going to M&S.
During the spring, summer and autumn months the diet for our cows and sheep is entirely grass and through the winter they are fed conserved grass with other home-grown feeds combined with a small amount of purchased feed.