malt barley

[wmoebis]

Just wondering? Are producers sending barley samples directly to malt house for selection or are you still sending through line companies?

[jamesb]

Both options are there. Personally I like to talk to the maltsters directly but most use elevators in areas where they don't have collection points or a malt plant. I think the dust is still settling post
CWB on the malt barley thing. One thing that ticks me is that a lot of the Canadian malt contracts don't have an act of god clause while the ND contracts all seem to. Personally I think signing a contact guaranteeing quality specs (which is a moving target with malt) is setting up a farmer to have to cut a check to the buyer for rejected barley. I wont do it

[farmaholic]

Even if mine would have been selected,
I don' think it would have been good
enough for the domestic market. I think
the domestic market cherry picks the
best and I thought mine wouldn't cut it
so I just went through a line company.
Needless to say it never made export
either.

I am not growing it this year, too many
flaming hoops to jump through. Locally,
(yesterday)Viterra was offering $5.28
for feed barley and $5.92 for Metcalfe
malt. A whopping 64 cent premium for
meeting all those quality specs. F,em.

Has anyone had theirs accepted directly
from a Malt Company and how did you do
on price?

[Oliver88]

I inquired into a Metcalf contract through Viterra, the deal was if it isn't accepted for malt you could either buy out the contract or replace the volume of the contract for feed barley.
The catch is an undetermined feed barley price and you don't have the ability to shop your malt sample around.

[Burbert]

F the malties and the multies, malt barley
, went the same way as the Comedian
Wheatie Bored, done like a doo doo bird,
eh! Heil Harper, F Ritz

[Jeff Nielsen]

I find it finally refreshing to deal with a maltster directly and not dealing with a third party (CWB) in the way. Has the spread narrowed ? perhaps, yet with the shortage of corn in the US this past winter perhaps that is the cause?
Malt is tight, at WBGA convention and at Grain World in Winnipeg, that point was made clear. US acres are short, all is contracted, yet they need more. Canadian acres not recovering, high corn prices mean more going for feed.
I'm between Canada Malt and RAHR. Have got a good level of trust and respect with RAHR. Have got a production contact with and Act of God clause on that production. And priced 25 % of next years crop at close to 1$ over market.
Relationships going forward I feel will be more important. Prime malt buyers want prime malt barley. Maltsters want a consistent barley crop to malt. If your in and out of malt barley production, sorry that don't cut it. Maltsters requirements to growers are already there, yet as we all know its all up to the weather.
Export markets will take perhaps less. Line companies best suited for export raw malt barley.
Even though beer consumption in North America is on the decline, the demand for quality malt is actually growing.
The former CWB interfered with how malt was traded, now its great to see the opportunities in the open market.

[Burbert]

Above, what a steaming pile of bull poop.
I LOVE dealing with malties direct.
Remember ta not get inta the shower with
this tool, heal doya er wantya ta due him,
because he LOveS BEAN wit ya, thats fer
sure. Heil Harper, F Ritz eh!

[blackpowder]

I've sold good quality malt last 5 years. Have good
relationship with local CMT employees.
I will not sign a"production" contract this year.
They are asking me to commit to a delivery quarter
with pricing done before beginning of said quarter.
Or I can use their price pool.
I can understand that it may be hard for them to
cover their price risk on malt. But I feel the spread to
feed and the contracts/prices offered indicate that
there is still plenty of supply or perception of it in
future.
In other words, I will grow it first then shop it.
Shopping it worked this year as CMT was scooped
by Viterra on 2/3 of my malt. Post cwb is working
and the malsters will now be responsible for their
own demise.

[blackpowder]

I'm with burbert here. those of us who produce
good malt outside the barley belt may have a
relationship with maltsters but it's more of a lap
dance than a diamond jubilee.
was told of potential new variety from syngenta
thru cmt. Oh but only if you did not get consistent
malt and only if you grow half acres old school ( no
fungicide). other half full syngenta package.
No, they say they need us but I don't feel that they
show it. It will always be up to me to provide the
quality. The industry is not ready for
producer/processor alliance.

[blackpowder]

I'm a generally loyal person.
But CMTs' management has one mandate. Pay as
little as possible. Their pricing tactics this season
forced me to double down on production contracts
to access a second buyer. Their as loyal as some
landlords but their consistent.
Malt is a specialty crop sure, but I believe a proper
pricing system could be achieved?
I don't want to lose my local collection point as it
is close. But I've had enuf of head office's bull poop.

[blackpowder]

I'm a generally loyal person.
But CMTs' management has one mandate. Pay as
little as possible. Their pricing tactics this season
forced me to double down on production contracts
to access a second buyer. Their as loyal as some
landlords but their consistent.
Malt is a specialty crop sure, but I believe a proper
pricing system could be achieved?
I don't want to lose my local collection point as it
is close. But I've had enuf of head office's bull poop.

[westsider]

I do not know if one thing in Jeff Nielsen statement above is true.

H.Q malt demand up? (just wrong)
no direct maltster contracts till post CWB? (been around for years)
growers cant go in and out? (they buy whats cheap and whats good. end of story)
and my favorite...$1 over market (impossible, even if you did get it hope you would have the brains to not tell the world about it. My farm is about 70 miles to Alix. i know those guys, they don't pay $1 or even 25 cents to anyone. all you did was create a mess for them because now everyone else wants that impossible dollar)

the CWB is gone buddy, quit beating the horse. it died.

[Jeff Nielsen]

Westsider;
just to clarify.
As to direct contracting, yes always could in the past, my point, there was always the middle man, the former CWB, you had no choice in that matter. My point now is that is gone.
I’m not defending the Maltsters; their reputation at times has been just as bad as us the producers. How many of us have either urinated in a sample or microwave it to get out of a contract to sell into a better feed market? Or due to ongoing delays by the maltsters and rechecks, been told the barley isn’t up to snuff and we are forced to sell into a depressed feed market? Perhaps it was interference from the CWB that made us want to get out of a contract, who lost there then?
It’s happened, yet, as you already have, call me an idiot, but I think times are changing.
With direct contracting, both parties are going to have to be much more responsible in honouring those contracts.

Pat Rowan, ABiNBev – speaking at Grain World.

•US barley, no feed production all malt contracted
•US barley acreage has been decimated due to the GMO grains, primarily corn
and soybeans. They are at their lowest level of acres and it continues to drop.
•Canadian barley acres are decreasing, other grains are more profitable.
•Farmers are looking for the best returns -non GMO “small crops” are of less interest.
•Farms are getting bigger, malt barley is a more time consuming crop.
•Barley is now a specialty crop.
Post CWB:
•Better pricing opportunities. Can speculation the market, sell
optional origin.
•Can source barley whenever we want to enter the market.
•We can now ship the barley to whatever destination that we want in
Canada/US/Mexico without incurring additional costs.
•Can pay premiums for the varieties we prefer.

Tim Stonehouse – Muntons Malt (EU)speaking at the WBGA convention.

•Brewers & Distillers are working closer together with the whole supply
chain to protect the malting barley crop and their future raw materials.
•We must continue to encourage farmers by supporting and growing of malting barley and paying the premiums their require.

Rabobank Global Beverage Outlook Study (30 January 2013)

•Companies must ensure “security of supply” and develop an integrated supply chain to
guard against price fluctuations
•Manufacturers can no longer afford to rely on lowest price commodities

These are just some comments from the industry. Each of us farmers has other reasons to grow or not to grow malt barley. As to how I priced my malt? Yes for some of my potential production I did get a $1 over feed, on that day. Many others did, it wasn’t a secret price by any means. Nor is any of the pricing offers I get, since then I’ve priced more at $.55/ per bushel above feed. So what? That price was out there, those who I talk to in the coffee shop know that too.
And your comment on the CWB? You lost me there buddy! I’ve never been a fan of the monopoly.

[mcfarms]

Yah malt barley "sucks"


Inside joke.

[mcfarms]

Honestly guys though, there are growers
that do very well at malt production. Why
are they happy with malt and you are
not,look at your operation and practices
and ask yourself where is it that I am
having issues, what can I do to improve
in these areas. It may well be that you
are missing a small step or conversely
you may be better off in fact to not grow
malt at all, I know of many growers that
have very good track records with malt
production, yet the growers right beside
them refuse to grow and try for malt
anymore. What's the difference?