Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian malt barley growers may be dealing with adverse harvest conditions that could lead to quality downgrades in some areas — while world supplies of the key beer ingredient remain more than sufficient to meet global demand. “There’s no real indication at this time that we’ll see a significant up move (in price),” […] Read more
Ample world malt barley supply to limit export prices
As harvest drags on, malt barley quality uncertain
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The quality of Canada’s 2019-20 barley crop remains to be seen, as cool and wet harvest conditions across much of the Prairies are raising concerns over how much will meet malt specifications. “We’ll lose a lot of malting barley this year, because of the weather,” said Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian […] Read more
Malt barley acreage predicted to increase
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Industry experts expect malt barley acreage in Western Canada to increase by about five per cent this year, supported by strong prices for both feed and malt. “All indications suggest we’ll see an increase in malt barley, as well as feed,” confirmed Peter Watts of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre. In light […] Read more
European malting giant to buy Cargill Malt business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cargill’s Prairie Malt plant in western Saskatchewan is destined for new European ownership under a deal publicly proposed Thursday. The Boortmalt Group, the malting arm of French agricultural co-operative Axereal, has announced its “intention to enter into an agreement” to buy Cargill Malt from the U.S. agrifood firm for an undisclosed sum. Boortmalt, which bills […] Read more
Canada’s malt barley courts two different buyers
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The rising North American craft beer sector and strong demand out of China are both good news stories for Canada’s malt barley sector. However, those two customers have different needs which can also create some challenges, said industry officials speaking Tuesday at the annual Grain World conference in Winnipeg. Lorelle Selinger, North […] Read more
Harvest delays prompt questions about malt barley supplies
Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada — The long, wet harvest of 2018 has probably spelled the end for most hopes that barley still in fields will meet malting specifications. “I really suspect that anything left in the field now, any barley now, will not be malting quality,” said Jeff Nielsen, a farmer near Olds, Alta., and director with […] Read more
Maltsters keen on promising new barley varieties
The recommended malting list for 2018 contains varieties with better agronomics than Copeland and Metcalfe
Reading Time: 4 minutes For a change, it’s not just farmers who are eagerly greeting new malting barley varieties. Maltsters, too, are singing the praises of emerging varieties intended to replace the big two. The Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre’s 2018-19 list of recommended malting barley varieties emphasizes growing demand for AAC Synergy, plus two new varieties, AAC Connect […] Read more
Alberta malt barley quality looking good
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Despite a wet spring and problems with dryness in the summer, barley in central Alberta is looking fairly good, according to a grower in the Red Deer area. “We had a really good malt crop this year, the quality is excellent,” said Matt Hamill of Red Shed Malting at Red Deer. “It […] Read more
Fear of feed expected to keep malt barley acres low
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Concerns about weather dictating the quality of malt barley is keeping producers from seeding the crop this year, one industry participant says, while weak prices offer no extra incentive. “Acres are definitely going to be down, because of the fear of getting feed barley, which is horrendously low-priced,” said Rod Green of […] Read more
Growing craft beer sector thirsty for local malt
Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada — Craft breweries are a growing subsector of the Canadian beer industry, but the increased variety of local drink options are not necessarily 100 per cent homegrown, as a lack of domestically produced specialty malts forces brewers to look far afield to meet their needs. “We get our base malt locally, but we […] Read more
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