Yes, I think it was a no brainer for farmers to grow grain for alcohol rather than direct human consumption for that reason. The crofter who sacked us said that the government had no incentive to change things either, on account of all the tax revenue that came from the worldwide trade in whiskey, though I forget the exact figures he told me.

Let us know how it turns out if you make barley bread - sounds interesting! Any history of it being used that way? I think more of oat cakes and bannock but I'm sure there's much more to it than that...

cheers,
I