WINNIPEG — High protein levels could prove a challenge for Canadian maltsters this year, according to a broker.
However, the quality of the country’s malt barley crop is generally looking better than had been expected as harvest activity starts up across the Prairies.
“Everything is high, high, high: high yields, high plump, high bushel weight and high protein,” Rod Green of Central Ag Marketing in Alberta said about the early samples he’s seen.
While “it will all find a home,” Green said the higher average protein levels would be a concern for maltsters, who generally like to see lower protein barley.
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The Canadian harvest is just getting started, and Green said recent rain may yet create quality issues. However, after one of the hottest and driest summers on record, the fact that barley yields are still relatively good was a pleasant surprise, and Green said “it could be worse.”
Malt barley bids are $5.50 to $6 per bushel, “which is still one of the best paying crops out there,” he said.
A large U.S. crop and the global economic uncertainty were bearish factors, he added, but demand was also strong, which was keeping malt barley at a good premium over feed.
