A new flour mill aims to be ready to accept Irish wheat in 2027. This was confirmed by Simon Byrne of Ballycarney Grain, who gave a presentation to the attendees at the Irish Tillage and Land Use Society’s spring workshop recently.

Planning permission has already been granted for the site in Ballycarney, Co Wexford and it is hoped that construction work will commence on-site in the next few months.

Ballycarney Grain has been conducting research into the possibility of growing and milling Irish wheat over the past number of years. A number of farmers grew winter and spring milling wheat on contract for the company in 2025.

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Simon noted that the quality of the wheat grown last year shows “we can grow milling wheat in Ireland”.

Going forward, he commented that the focus will be on winter wheat varieties.

“When wheat is put through a grain dryer, it’s at high risk of damaging the gluten in the grain.”

The earlier harvest date of winter wheat means there is a higher chance of lower grain moistures at harvest and subsequently higher grain quality.

It was also highlighted that continuous cereal rotations and lighter land seem to be more suitable for milling wheat.

“What we’re finding is the stronger type land, or after a break crop, is giving more protein to the bran of the grain. Continuous cereals on lighter ground are putting more protein into the endosperm of the grain, which is good from a milling perspective,” he said.

A stressed crop will also give more protein to the bran, so a grower must aim to avoid stressing the wheat as much as possible.

Grain price

As is the case with any new markets or opportunities, the question on everyone’s lips was what price was being paid for the milling wheat.

In 2025, an average of €20/t over feed price was paid for winter wheat and an average of €15/t over feed price was paid for spring wheat.

“We’d be hoping that we can pay a better price when the mill is actually built,” Simon added.