A north-east brewery has travelled to Belgium as part of an EU-funded project to bring expertise back to Moray.
Lossiemouth-based Windswept received £53,000 from the Leader funding scheme to develop and market a product line using local barley.
Now the firm has travelled to the continent to learn from producers there about how best to create shorter supply lines and stronger links between brewers and farmers.
The company also toured three Belgian breweries as well as farms, a maltings and a distillery to develop ideas to be replicated in Moray.
The first grain grown as part of the project at Pitgaveny Farm near Elgin has already been harvested and will soon be malted before brewing commences early next year.
Members of the Moray Leader local action group have also taken part in the visits to learn lessons for other firms.
Group member Aileen Buchanan said: “There are lots of ideas to think about how partnerships between farmers and end users, in this case breweries and small distilleries, could work to the benefit of both the farmers and the businesses.”
Group member Erica Beck added: “Beyond the direct bilateral learnings gained by the brewers, the visit gave an insight into different ways for disbursing European Leader funds for community environmental education and ecological benefit that might be usefully implemented in future programmes in Moray.”