Reading Time: 2 minutes Hot and dry growing conditions cut into barley yields in Western Canada in 2023 but the quality was generally good, according to the yearly annual harvest report on barley quality from the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC).
Good quality Canadian malt barley despite lower yields
CDC Copeland acres declined, with AAC Synergy the most popular malting variety
CMBTC study finds new malting barley lines a fit for Manitoba
Agronomic traits in new varieties overcome disease issues that held crop back
Reading Time: 2 minutes Manitoba farmers have improved prospects to access the more-lucrative malting barley market, according to a recent study. The report by the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC), in collaboration with the Manitoba Crop Alliance, says new Canadian malting barley varieties can be grown successfully in Manitoba. With yields and quality comparable to the check variety […] Read more
Richardson buys into European malt market
Winnipeg agrifood firm buys U.K.-based Anglia Maltings
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Canada’s biggest grain merchant Richardson International is entering the malt sector through the acquisition of U.K.-based Anglia Maltings Holdings (AMH), targeting rising demand for the beer and whisky ingredient, Richardson said on Friday without disclosing financial terms. Anglia Maltings operates seven malt facilities in the U.K., Poland, and Germany, with combined […] Read more
France’s InVivo makes bid for United Malt
Bid would include Canada Malting business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — United Malt Group has received an indicative, non-binding offer from Malteries Soufflet, a branch of French agribusiness InVivo, the Australian commercial maltster said on Tuesday, valuing it at A$1.5 billion (C$1.36 billion). The A$5 per share offer represents a 45.3 per cent premium to United Malt’s last close of A$3.44. Trading in shares […] Read more
Little change in barley acres expected
Malt barley prices mainly steady
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — As spring planting approaches, Peter Watt of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) said there likely won’t be a big shift in barley acres that will be planted in 2023. “Producers have made their [planting] decisions for the most part. You might see people adjust their plans a little bit based on […] Read more
Craft maltster and farmer thrives by sheer determination
How did Matt Enns turn a value-add idea into a thriving venture despite all the other priorities that take up every farmer’s time? More important, could you do it too?
Reading Time: 11 minutes “There’s a lot of different things you could do,” Matt Enns says. Every farmer knows that kind of feeling. There aren’t enough hours. There are way more ideas than time to work on them. “I wish I had eight lives to live to do all the things I want to do,” Enns says. Again, it’s […] Read more
Low demand for barley keeps prices stable
Wheat's volatility not reflecting onto barley values
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Unlike the dramatic leaps wheat prices have made since the Russian invasion of Ukraine 12 days ago, malt barley prices have moved very little, according to Kris Moric of Johnston’s Grains in Calgary. Wheat “is not pulling barley prices with it, as far as we can see on our end,” Moric said, noting […] Read more
PGRs for malting barley? Maybe
Research suggests plant growth regulators should be considered as a risk-management tool in fields with high yield potential
Reading Time: 4 minutes [UPDATED: April 12, 2021] Lodging is the enemy of barley producers, especially if they’re hoping for a malting premium. It’s prompted some producers to get out of barley altogether. Others are turning to plant growth regulators (PGRs) to help cut their losses. Sheri Strydhorst, a research scientist at the University of Alberta, says lodging is […] Read more
South Africa’s barley growers face bleak outlook on alcohol ban
Ban reinstated against COVID-19 surge
Reading Time: 2 minutes Johannesburg | Reuters — South African barley farmers are bracing for a tough market ahead as demand for the grain used to make beer falls and stockpiles grow after a ban on the sale of alcohol was reinstated as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases. The government in December enforced its third ban […] Read more
InVivo in talks to acquire French agribusiness Soufflet
Firms see limited overlap outside grain trading
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Co-operative group InVivo has entered exclusive talks to acquire family-controlled Soufflet in a deal that would create one of Europe’s biggest agricultural businesses with 10 billion euros (C$15.5 billion) in sales, the French firms said on Wednesday. The potential consolidation comes as France, the European Union’s largest agricultural producer, is trying […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
