2022 Malting Barley Seeding Considerations

This bulletin addresses the following areas for the 2022 growing season:

• Growing malting vs. feed barley;
• Malting barley variety selection for success;
• Certified vs. farm saved seed;
• Desired end-user quality characteristics in malting barley

 
MALTING VS. FEED BARLEY
 
Producers who are planning to grow barley should consider the following:

• Growing a malting barley variety enables producers to access an additional 2-2.5 million tonne marketplace. Canada’s malt processors typically buy over 1 million tonnes of malting barley annually, and in recent years malting barley exports have topped 1 million tonnes (in 2020-21 they reached 1.6 million tonnes);
• New malting barley varieties have seen considerable improvements in agronomics in recent years with better yields, standability and disease resistance. Producers who opt to grow newer malting barley varieties will typically not lose much in the way of yield compared with high yielding feed varieties like CDC Austenson (see yield data below);
• Malting barley generally trades at a $0.50-1.00 per bushel premium to feed. On a quarter section of land, based on a 70 bushel per acre yield, malting barley has a $5,600-$11,200 advantage over feed barley; 
• Growing a malt variety allows producers to further differentiate themselves and to develop relationships and long-term marketing opportunities in the malting sector;
• Canada is one of only a select few countries supplying malting barley and malt to the world marketplace, and Canada is recognized as a trusted and reliable supplier of premium quality product. With very tight supplies of malting barley globally due to production problems in 2021, producers can expect strong demand for malting barley off the combine in the fall of 2022. 
• By choosing a malting barley variety, producers have access to both malting and feed markets, mitigating their marketing and price risk. 

 
WHICH MALTING BARLEY VARIETY TO CHOOSE?
 

• Canada’s barley breeders have developed a lineup of excellent new malting barley varieties, each with strong agronomics and disease resistance, that are poised to replace older malt varieties in the marketplace. 
• These new varieties also have very desirable end-use malting and brewing characteristics, reinforcing Canada’s position as a supplier of premium quality barley and malt, and are increasingly accepted by domestic and international maltsters and brewers.  
• As seed supply will be limited for 2022, producers should check with local seed suppliers early.
• Newer malting varieties such as AAC Connect, CDC Fraser and CDC Bow are already accepted by many domestic and international maltsters and brewers.  
• Depending on whether a producer is looking for higher or lower amounts of crop residues after harvest, new malting barley varieties vary in the amount of straw they generate. Crop height can be a rough indication of a variety’s straw production.
• Although production challenges vary across malting barley growing regions, the expanding selection of excellent new malting varieties ensures producers can select a variety that fits their needs.
• While the dry growing season limited disease pressure in 2021, producers should pay attention to disease resistance in their variety selection and test the seed lot they intend to plant in 2022 as there may still be seed borne disease in 2021 supplies. Test seed as soon as possible so options are still available if new seed supply is required. 
• Producers should check with their local seed dealers as to which malting barley varieties perform well in their area, and discuss contracting options with their local malting barley buyer. Provincial seed guides are also an excellent source of regional variety performance data.  

 
Improved Yields & Lodging Resistance
 

• New Canadian malting barley varieties have significant yield improvements over their predecessors. The provincial seed guides indicate yields among the new varieties are comparable to the most widely grown feed barley variety, CDC Austenson.