Growing malt

[Hopperbin]

Klause you know my opinion. After you grow a crop you can bargain on details after you know them. Otherwise your locked in a one way deal the specs on malt have generally not been met here the last 4 years. but based on past a lot has been picked up same period.. What i am saying is past malt growers have had it picked up even under spec. Grow the quality and you will get paid. New customer could be tuff if high acres. I had 95 percent acceptance in 20 years. Out of them probably half would have made contract so **** the contract. It will go later. Not sure you understand as you like tto forward price .

[ado089]

Braveheart N supply can get a little tricky to predict above 4% OM. It's not that you can't figure out how much there will be but when it shows up will depend on the season. Warm moist soil with 4% OM can pump out close to 50 lbs of N.

[ado089]

Even all the N in straw from the big wheat crop two seasons ago is just showing up this fall.

[wmoebis]

I helped a major elev Co with malt program one year. We selected for export and offered to malt Co's for selection to their specs and rejected non spec into feed market. I learnt that there is 2 ways to get barley selected.

1- Grow good malt barley year after year meet all specs, then if you have a bad year due to weather or something beyond your control, they will still select it so that you won't give up and start growing for feed market.

2- Owe the elevator Co enough money for seed, chem, fert or high price contract you cant afford to buy out and they will select your barley to make sure they get paid.

[Braveheart]

Thanks Ado. That helps to explain why it's hard for us to keep protein in our malt barley down even when we reduce rates of N substantially.

[jamesb]

we are long time malt growers and have good luck most years getting accepted but not this year. My rules are sign only act of god contracts with malt. Too many guys are signing delivery contracts with malt barley with no AOG clause, these are not going to end well in many years. Grow what the buyer is asking for. Its ok to try some barley on spec but most buyers want specific varieties. Don't skimp on fungicides.

[blackpowder]

Mbdog. Yes, I will enter a production contract most of the time. CMC has then worked with it. I'm 10 miles from one of their delivery points.