Long a staple for health-conscious consumers, what makes a product organic starts long before it reaches the supermarket shelves. It begins with healthy soils, sustainable farming practices and trusted relationships between growers and processors.
At Silvery Tweed Cereals, we have long championed organic produce by working with farmers who share our commitment to quality, sustainability and traceability. In Andrew and Virginia Grant of Riddell Estate, we have a perfect partner to deliver high-quality products to our customers.
Sustainable sourcing
For more than 10 years, our supplier of organic barley has been The Riddell Estate, a 1,739-acre organic farm located in the Ale Water Valley in the Scottish Borders, just 38 miles from our processing facility in Berwick-upon-Tweed.
The Riddell Estate is independently certified by the Soil Association, ensuring every stage of production meets rigorous organic standards. The estate farms organic lamb, beef and barley, using farming methods that help protect biodiversity, improve soil health and support a more sustainable future for agriculture.
The proximity of the estate significantly reduces the carbon output from export, import and transportation (food miles) and, crucially, gives us a fully traceable supply chain.
Beautiful barley
Each year, The Riddell Estate produces around 400 tonnes of organic barley, and Silvery Tweed Cereals uses its entire annual harvest. Our long-standing partnership gives us complete confidence in the quality, provenance and consistency of the organic barley that forms the foundation of our products.
At our processing plant, the barley is carefully processed into a range of premium organic ingredients, including:
• Organic barley flakes
• Organic mini barley flakes
• Organic pearled barley
• Organic barley flour
These versatile products can be used by food manufacturers and independent retailers to create tradition options such as nutritious mueslis, wholesome granolas but also in more unusual applications like broths and artisan baking.
Choosing organic
Choosing organic is about more than the finished product, although those are always delicious and have numerous health benefits! It also supports farming practices that work in harmony with nature, encouraging healthy ecosystems and promoting long-term environmental sustainability.
Our partnership with Riddell Estate demonstrates how close collaboration between organic farmers and processors can support the farming economy while also providing great produce. Great organic ingredients begin with great organic farming.
We hope our partnership with Andrew and Virginia Grant at The Riddell Estate continues for a long time into the future and assures our customers about the quality and care we take with our products.
To find out more about our organic barley offering, visit our website, and for why you might want to use this ancient grain, see our blog: Why Barley?