As Canadian producers look forward to the 2025 growing year, cereal rotations are an integral part of their plans before hitting the field. Malt barley will be a big part of that as producers look to cash in on the premiums associated with malt barley. Primarily grown for beer production, malt barley differs from regular barley because it needs to be kept alive before heading to the breweries and food processors.
Besides crops grown for seed, every other seed is dead and dried, malt barley is kept alive which is tougher for producers but offers an extra premium at the terminal. Peter Watts, managing director with the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre or CMBTC, talks about the benefits that producers can gain from growing.
“It's certainly a specialty crop. Got to be careful with it and depending on where you're located, it's not always easy to select it but it is an important option for farmers because of the premium that you get over feed (barley). A lot of producers I talked to like the ones that regularly get malt, it's one of the best return crops."
The CMBTC works with seed developers and educational institutions such as Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan to produce high-quality that can consistently make malt and be used in food production. However, Watts states that just because it’s a premium crop and these institutions put a lot of work into their seed varieties, producers should do their homework before planting.
“Producers should certainly talk to their local malt barley buyers. Find out what varieties they're looking for and on the accepted list, and then they can also talk with the seed companies and the seed growers to find out which varieties perform best agronomically in that region. We always encourage producers to buy certified seed, that’s going to ensure that you have varietal purity and increase your chances of being selected for malt barley.”
The CMBTC has more information on the seed varieties that producers will use for malt barley on their website, www.cmbtc.com however as Watts explains, producers should talk to their local seed companies and malt barley buyers to research the best management practices before putting the drill in the dirt and planting.