UK: New malting barley Moonshine to challenge the most popular varieties

Scottish malting barley growers are set to benefit from a new early maturing spring barley variety from a relatively new name in the cereal breeding market, RAGT, Scotsman reported on December, 20.

Seed from the company’s first spring barley variety for the UK market, Moonshine, will be available for sowing next year and will challenge the popular Concerto because of its early maturity.

Moonshine has outperformed Concerto in official trials in terms of yield but is ready for harvesting a week earlier which is a huge advantage in northern climates.

“It is a variety which will suit Scotland very well,” RAGT managing director Simon Howell, told an Edinburgh press conference on December, 19. “It has performed well in traditional high-yield areas, such as the Borders and Central Scotland, but its main advantage is early ripening which will be particularly beneficial in later areas, such as Aberdeenshire.”

The variety will not mature as early as the old favourite Golden Promise, which is now outclassed for yield by newer varieties, but Howell said it compared favourably with another existing early variety, Chariot, and was the earliest maturing variety on the official recommended list.

Distillers are showing keen interest in the variety because of its low nitrogen – averaging 1.25 per cent in trials – and high spirit yield. It has also demonstrated good resistance to one of the main diseases affecting barley, rhyncosporium.

The French-owned RAGT, founded by French farmers in 1919, has invested £3.5 million in establishing its European cereal breeding centre at Cambridge following its acquisition of the Plant Breeding Institute’s barley and wheat breeding programmes.

The company has also launched an early winter wheat, Tuxedo, with a high Hagberg rating making it ideal for biscuit making but also suitable for distilling or for the export market.

“Tuxedo was not taken up much by Scottish growers in its first year but we are having a lot of interest now that the variety is proving itself on farm,” said Howell.

It has come out first equal for biscuit wheats (group three) in official trials in Scotland with excellent standing power and good disease resistance.

The launch of both varieties has been welcomed by David Waite of leading grain traders Frontier Agriculture, who sees a bright future for Scottish arable farmers who can meet the quality requirements of distillers, brewers and millers.

“Whisky production is at an all-time high with new distilleries commissioned and old moth-balled distilleries re-opening,” said Waite.

“Export opportunities to Asia, India and the Far East are increasing exponentially.”

Maltings in Scotland are working to 100 per cent capacity, despite the opening of new plants over the past two years, and barley is being exported to England for malting and transporting back to Scotland.

Waite advises growers to concentrate on varieties in demand from local maltsters to save on haulage costs and optimise returns. Demand for malting barley in Scotland is expected to increase next year from 750,000 tonnes to 800,000 tonnes.

Part of the possible short-fall will be met by farmers in central Scotland who have been unable to sow wheat this autumn because of the late harvest and adverse weather and will instead be sowing barley in the spring.

Distilling sales director with the Crisp Malting Group, Richard Beattie, said demand for malting barley was continuing to increase as a result of reduced stocks and soaring whisky production to meet a rising world-wide demand.

Crisp is the largest UK-based maltster, with maltings at Portgordon and Alloa as well as south of the Border and an annual demand for 264,000 tonnes of barley. He is advising farmers to concentrate on the low nitrogen end of the market – 1.55 per cent or less – as high nitrogen barley accounts for only 10 per cent of demand.

Distillers are keen to engage with growers – a welcome change from the past – and are offering longer-term contracts with premiums linked to the wheat futures market to secure future supplies.

Rejections of barley delivered to Crisp’s two Scottish maltings at this year’s harvest were the lowest ever.

Beattie said it was vital for farmers to select the most suitable varieties to grow and meet the quality specifications demanded by distillers to maximise returns for their barley.

21 December, 2011