Norfolk farmer Chris Eglington wins YEN milling wheat award

Chris Eglington, who farms at Letton near Shipdham, won the Gold prize at the Milling Quality Awards, presented at the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) annual conference.

All entries were tested for grain quality criteria including protein, Hagberg falling number, and specific weight.

The top 10 samples were then milled and subjected to dough and baking tests, before an expert inspection of the resulting loaf.

Norfolk wheat grower Chris Eglington, who farms at Letton, near Shipdham - Picture: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

Generally, 2022 was a year for low protein concentrations, but Mr Eglington's winning wheat bucked this trend with a high protein of 14.4pc, as well as yielding nearly 11 tonnes per hectare and hitting top milling and bread-making specifications.

He said the premiums for milling wheat, currently £60 per tonne higher than lower-grade feed wheat, made the pursuit of quality worthwhile - even if it incurred higher fertiliser costs.

And he puts his success down to factors including a commitment to "controlled traffic farming" to reduce soil compaction from heavy machinery, a well-judged "little and often" use of nitrogen fertilisers, and making optimum use of natural manure from the farm's pigs.

"The manure is not free but if that is going in you get more goodness in the soil for whatever is growing in there," he said.

"The crop will be better, the yield will be better, and the nitrogen will go into the protein.

Harvesting using controlled traffic farming at Chris Eglington's farm near Shipdham - Picture: Chris Eglington (Image: Chris Eglington)

"It is important that we can produce more of our own bread-making wheat in this country - 50 years ago we produced very little, because all the milling wheat came from Canada and Australia."

Joe Brennan of award sponsors UK Flour Millers reported that Mr Eglington’s entry resulted in an "excellent baked loaf with good volume and a resilient white breadcrumb".