Vivergo are to open this spring David Richards, MD of the plant tells Farming Online. They will be buying wheat from local farmers through the grain merchant Frontier Agriculture. The announcement was made at the Royal Society in London on Tuesday where more than 100 people gathered for 'Balancing food and fuel needs: the future of UK wheat'.

The high level audience met to discuss the impact of producing biofuels using home-grown wheat in the context of the UK’s changing agricultural landscape. Panelists included Peter Kendall, Jonathon Porritt, Dr Jeremy Tomkinson and David Richards. The event was chaired by broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby.

David Richards said "We are showing people that biofuel production in the UK is not a choice between food and fuel – both can be achieved".

The bioethanol plant at Saltend near Hull will be the UK's largest ethanol production facility in the UK. Vivergo a joint venture between BP, AB Sugar and DuPont will produce 470 million litres of bioethanol and half a million tonnes of animal feed a year. This will make the plant the largest biofuel producer in the UK and the largest single source supplier of animal feed.

Good news for arable and livestock

This is good news for arable and livestock farmers as it opens up a new market for grain and a new supplier for feed. It also means that livestock farmers will have access to a traceable non GM based feed, reducing their dependence on imported feed and also reducing the carbon footprint of their livestock products. This could give them an interesting competitive edge.

Meanwhile the ethanol produced will go some way to meeting the UK's requirement under the Renewable Transport Fuels Directive. Vivergo claim that the bioethanol produced will give Green House Gas savings in excess of 50% over standard petrol. All thanks to local wheat farmers.

This looks like a truly win-win enterprise. Farmers benefit from a new market and supplier and the UK gets a reduction in Carbon emissions.