All feed barley is not created equal, but too often it’s priced as if it is.
Alberta Agriculture is now leading a research project with the goal of changing that.
The idea is to use infrared testing technology to set up a database that will identify specific traits related to barley’s feeding value.
If such a system was to be introduced on a commercial basis, farmers would be able to take samples to grain elevators or feed mills, obtain a detailed quality profile and be paid accordingly.
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“Right now a producer is not getting paid for quality,” said Jim Helm of Alberta Agriculture, the lead researcher in the three-year, $1.5 million project. “This should allow farmers to market grain according to its quality strengths.”
Feed grain values have traditionally been based on physical characteristics such as bushel weight, kernel plumpness and colour, but Helm said those factors don’t necessarily reflect the grain’s true value to the livestock producer or miller.
The database would allow for an instant analysis of protein, lysine, starch, amino acids and fibre, and also provide an assessment of digestible energy and protein digestibility as it relates to commercial feeding operations for different types of livestock.
The feed barley could then be priced based on those factors.
Feedlot operators or hog producers should be willing to pay more if they know they are getting a top quality product that will improve efficiency and profitability.
Premium payments for top quality should also act as an incentive for grain growers to engage in management practices that allow them to produce the best product possible.
“The livestock producer and the grain producer hopefully will both benefit from this,” Helm said.
“The buyer will know what he’s paying for and the seller can price it accordingly.”
He said some of the top quality samples he’s looked at could be worth as much as $98 a tonne more than the selling price, which could be a huge financial benefit if buyers are willing to pay even half of that.
Wayne Hagemann, a barley producer from Ponoka, Alta., said growers would welcome that kind of system.
“I think we would probably start getting paid for quality.”
He said everybody in the industry knows barley with similar bushel weight can have widely different feeding values and it’s time that was reflected in the price.
“Now it seems we get discounted for the poorer grain but we never get a premium for the better grain.”
However, Helm cautioned that while it should result in higher prices for barley growers, there’s no absolute guarantee that it will.
Issues to be dealt with include the development of separate storage and handling capacity for feed barley with a wide range of quality.
Also, there would have to be a change in the “traditional mind set” among many buyers and feeders of getting the least-cost rations.
Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy has been widely used for decades to analyze grain samples for breeding and research purposes. However, Helm said dealing with those “pure” samples is a far cry from highly variable commercial grain.
The project will involve testing thousands of barley samples to develop a database of benchmark quality traits that will work consistently in different NIRS machines under a variety of conditions.
