Saskatchewan farmers are doing their part to bring relief to a nation of thirsty Japanese beer drinkers.
Roxanne Morin, a market centre manager for Viterra, said Japanese brewing giant Sapporo Breweries has contracted Saskatchewan barley growers to produce a variety of malting barley called Polarstar.
Malt from Polarstar produces a beer that maintains its flavour longer and is less prone to oxidization.
Sapporo contracted acres last year under a small pilot program and expanded acreage this year as it expanded production at its brewing facilities in Japan.
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Morin said farmers are growing Polarstar on 20,000 acres this year under identity preserved production contracts, which offer producers guaranteed markets as well as a $2.50 per bushel premium, as long as quality specifications are met.
Sapporo contracted its Saskatchewan acreage with the help of Prairie Malt, a Saskatchewan malting company jointly owned by Viterra and Cargill.
Procurement managers at Prairie Malt divided Sapporo’s 2010 acreage between Viterra and Cargill, and employees at those companies then arranged individual production contracts with Saskatchewan growers.
Morin said Polarstar acreage is spread across much of the province this year, including Shaunavon, Swift Current, Kindersley, Rosetown, Biggar, Wilkie, Unity, Saskatoon, North Battleford, Kelvington, Raymore and Fairlight.
The three-year contracts require producers to buy certified seed in the first year and follow strict production guidelines to ensure full traceability and segregation from other malting barley varieties.
Producers are also required to keep a comprehensive production diary throughout the growing season documenting fertility, chemical use, rainfall, growing conditions and crop management strategies.
Harvest samples are tested for malt quality, varietal purity and glyphosate residue.
Samples that fail to meet the grade can be used as feed, but feed-related uses must be thoroughly documented.
All barley that meets malting quality standards must be delivered to Sapporo, although farmers are permitted to hold back some seed for planting in subsequent years of their three-year contract.
Morin said interest in the program was strong in 2010 and producers seem pleased with Polarstar’s performance.
“We are getting some positive feedback about the barley as far as the heads and the stand and so on.”
There is a reasonable chance acreage could be increased in the future, based on this year’s performance.
Farmers have been impressed with Sapporo’s interest and involvement in the program, she added. Brewery representatives have visited participating farms and met producers.
“They are looking for farmers that have good farming practices and can be trusted to produce a quality product.”
Gerald Girodat, a commercial grain producer and certified seed grower from Shaunavon, Sask., who signed a production contract this year, said the variety, which is genetically similar to Kendall, performs well in the province’s southwest.
Girodat also grew Polarstar in his pedigreed seed program last year.
“It’s a good barley,” he said.
“We’ve always had as good a yield with it as we’ve had with any other barley. It probably doesn’t produce quite as well as some of the very newest varieties of malting barley, but it’s certainly right up there. We’ve also found it to have pretty good standability.”
CDC Polarstar was developed at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre and granted interim registration in 2008.
It is a loxless version of CDC Kendall. Loxless barley is a new development, but its benefits could significantly affect the global brewing industry.
Lox is an abbreviation for lipoxygenase- 1, an enzyme that occurs naturally in most malting barley varieties. The enzyme breaks down naturally occurring fats that are found in barley and converts them into free fatty acids.
The presence of free fatty acids causes oxidization in beer, resulting in a drink that tastes flat and smells stale. The impact of oxidization is most noticeable when beer is exposed to heat or sunlight, but over time, oxidization affects all beer, including those that are properly sealed and stored under ideal conditions.
Sapporo researchers made the connection between oxidization and the lipoxygenase-1 enzyme a few years ago.
The company screened 1,500 barley cultivars and identified germ-plasm that did not produce the lipoxygenase enzyme.
The genetic material was transferred to the CDC and crossbred with CDC Kendall to create the world’s first loxless malting variety.
Sapporo also owns Sleeman Breweries in Canada.
