Growing malt

[Klause]

Tips? Tricks?

Metcalf malt.


Maybe a crop to grow next year on a production contract?

[sk_wheatking]

Only thing I can say is if you think peas don't like excess moisture wait till you grow barley.

[blackpowder]

From what I gather here your a fairly good agronomist Klause. Every crop/variety seems to like a region or soil type.
Here, Copeland seems to take the N without taking Px. Balance the K & P & S. Seed early, after peas. 35 p/ft2. Fungicide. Some years need aeration available, take early, have swather if necessary. Have contract, will travel.

[farmaholic]

You would have less flaming hoops to jump through if you were a lion in the Ringling Brothers Circus.

[freewheat]

I would pick a different variety. Copeland was good to me as well. No tricks or tips, you just need luck, honestly. Here in the wet zone, protein has never been an issue. But there are a whole other host of grade factors that come up, and you can't do a dang thing about them.

I gave up on the malt lottery, which to me, is exactly what it is.

Like milling wheat. Growing a high yield feed, allows one to eliminate quality concerns to a great extent, and use heavier, high yield nutrient rates that may burn you on the malt side in some areas.

[freewheat]

farmaholic, lol!

[Braveheart]

The only way malt works in our area is after it's put in a bottle and enjoyed with friends or after a good day of work.

Something fell apart in developing good barley varieties for here. Yield and quality both lacking.

[Klause]

We are in a good malt growing area.

I've grown some pretty nice Metcalf in the past... just can't seem to get the protein low enough for malt....

We used to use 65-25-10-19 on it for a fert blend, plus a shot of fungicide at flag...


Who does production contracts for Copeland?

[Braveheart]

Klause, I remember your comfort re trucking to the US. Have you considered a contract with Busch and their varieties? The barley could be delivered to a malt house in ND. A fertilizer back haul might help the logistics.

[Tandem007]

Klause where's your home area?

[hobbyfrmr]

I agree with Braveheart. i have seen a couple of crops where I was selected, then I had to store the barley until spring. Resubmit sample in December to ensure germ. Pass up all the feed barley opportunities in the cold of winter. Deliver on road bans, then be rejected because the germination dropped, or protein too high, or something something.
I'm just too unreceptive/uncooperative/lazy/cranky/cash poor/old to play that game.

[Klause]

SE and SW of Humboldt, Tandem.

Hauling to the US would be a possibility... However I'm looking at barley to help with harvest type cash flow.


I.E. a malting production contract for Sept delivery like one company offered last fall (and may again this year).