BIGGAR, Sask. – Producers who want to protect their malting barley from high protein levels should plant early in the spring.
“The longer you delay seeding, the more risk there is for higher protein,” said Mike Grenier, an agronomist with the Canadian Wheat Board.
He said at a field day here July 26 that yields could be increased by assessing local moisture and soil conditions, picking varieties adapted to the farm area and experimenting with increased seeding rates.
High moisture years like 2005 bode well for a good crop of plump kernel barley coveted by Biggar’s Prairie Malt Ltd., which co-hosted the field and malt plant tours with the CWB.
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Garth Massie, an agronomist at Prairie Malt, advised farmers to look at varieties recommended by maltsters to keep protein levels from exceeding 12 percent.
He noted Harrington, once the king of malt barley, is declining in acreage in Canada.
Metcalfe is now the No. 1 export variety, offering maltsters large kernels and growers strong yield potential.
Longtime malting barley grower Doreen Marshall switched all her fields to Metcalfe from Harrington this year. She and her son Vaughn do not grow on contract but are successful in getting their malting barley sold every year.
They seed in early May to allow the crops to get a jump on the weeds and to begin harvest earlier in the fall.
She said Metcalfe is taller than Harrington and is growing well this year, despite limited rain in recent weeks in the Kyle region where she farms.
They avoid fertilizers to keep down protein levels and seed three-quarters of a bushel to the acre onto summerfallow fields each year.
“If we seed two bu. an acre, we have a poor looking grade of barley,” she said.
Another variety finding favour in the malting industry is Kendall.
Kendall is similar to Metcalfe, although it has higher levels of protein and can be harvested two days earlier. It has better hull retention so experiences less damage in shipping.
Copeland is not as well known in the marketplace but has good yield potential.
Currently under market development are Newdale and Calder, two-row malting barleys.
Newdale is a finer looking plant that offers good lodging resistance and is broadly adapted to different regions.
Calder offers good disease resistance with less yield potential than Newdale. It has good hull adherence, translating into less peeling during harvest for farmers.
Massie said growers contemplating the newer varieties should switch to ones that are widely selected and accepted by maltsters and for export.
He also advised first seeking out contracts so producers won’t have to sell their barley as lower-valued feed.
“To protect yourself, grow it under contract as there is more accountability of the people buying your grain,” said Massie.
Switching a field over to a new variety can be accomplished by growing one or two fields with certified seed to make seed for the next year, at which time all fields can be planted with the same variety.
During a tour of research plots south of Biggar, growers learned how seeding rates, micronutrients and different varieties affected malting barley development.
“Our thought is to promote balanced soil fertility and help maintain yields but moderate protein levels in barley,” Massie said.
He was surprised by how well the crop responded to potassium and phosphorus.
That was likely related to early root development in the cool, wet soil this spring, he said.
There are 10 million acres of barley grown in Western Canada, producing 12.5 million tonnes. About 2.2 million tonnes are selected for malting barley.
Grenier said that could grow to more than three million within 10 years, due to a growing malt industry in China.
“As the population increases, they are drinking more and more beer,” he said.
Key production areas for malting barley include west-central and southwestern Saskatchewan, and southern and central Alberta.
Smaller pockets of production are found in Alberta’s Peace, northeastern Saskatchewan and northwestern Manitoba.
