The Wonder of Worms....

The foundation of our business is the soil, it is where it all begins, for without it there would be no barley or malt.  The soil is something many of us take for granted, assuming that whatever we plant will grow provided we get the right weather and look after the plants along the way.  We all understand that climate change is having an impact on that notion and it is as important for those who consume the produce of the land as those who farm it to understand that the soil holds a value and a potential far beyond our current understanding.  If we recognise its importance, we will not only unlock the benefits of capturing more carbon we may also unlock new opportunities for novel crops and perhaps even new flavours.  The Crafty Maltsters are not scientists, but we are excited about the potential our soil holds and we hope in a small way to be able to tell its story and the one of those who look after it through our products.

“Go your own way”, a sign I purchased for my son, that hangs beside his bed to remind him every day that he has a choice, and it is a very important one.  It is a message that almost every parent will utter at some stage, why, because inherently we all believe that is the way we should unashamedly live our life.  The problem is it is not always one we adhere to as an adult, instead we become consumed by peer pressure, be that in or out of the workplace.  Our paths become less about going our own way and more about following the one we think is the most sensible, and rightly so in many instances.

That said, if we had listened to the sensible approach when it came to Crafty Maltsters, we would never have built a malthouse, so in this instance I am glad we opted to go our own way! Time after time we were told that our ambition to tell the story of the farmer and their barley was a nice one, but it made absolutely no financial sense, we simply could not compete with the big suppliers. We listened carefully to the concerns, but ultimately it came down to a fundamental belief that if we tackled this supply chain from the soil up we really could do something unique.

I find myself going back to the "go your own way" dilemma when considering how climate change mitigation and sustainability are practically demonstrated in our business and also how we position it to our customers.  You see we have no desire to change practice simply because we have to, it must be because we see the value and really want to make the change.  As Crafty Maltsters we can talk about the sustainability of our local supply chain, but the last thing we want is for you to scratch beneath the surface and find we simply talk a good story.  We want you to scratch beneath the surface and find that we practice sustainable land management and ultimately it results in a better quality product that both we and our customers are proud of.

If we really want to tackle the climate change emergency, we have to be as passionate about the journey to get there as we do about the final goal.  I don’t want to talk about sustainability because I feel I have to or because ‘net zero’ is the latest buzz word.  I want to talk about it knowing that we really care about leaving the land in a better state than how we found it,  I am yet to meet a farmer who doesn't share the same ethos, but our choice becomes more sensible when we realise the true value value of our primary products and remove them from the commodity circus.

Our motto is to believe in every statement we make, behave with integrity and always ensure our messages are authentic.  So, you won’t find us making huge statements on being the first maltster to make net zero malt, you will find us quietly working away to make things better.  I would love to tell you our malting process is entirely powered by renewable sources, but I can’t because none of the solutions we have explored were feasible or practical, but I can tell you we will keep searching.

In the long term maybe it is the small things that will make the biggest difference, digging up your soil and finding more worms than you did the previous year is hugely fulfilling, but in marketing terms not exactly a sexy strapline! So, on sustainability and anything else for that matter, we will live out what we tell our children, we will go our own way and remember to say thank you to the worms because they are the little guys that really do all the work.