Farmers are gaining new insights in the malt industry through a course offered by the Canadian Malt Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC).
The Malt Academy for Producers explores a complicated industry.
“I thought it was a very educational course,” said Leigh Smith, who runs a 5,000-acre mixed operation north of Oak Lake. “There was a lot of very good information for me, as a producer of malt barley, to understand where everybody in the industry stands.”
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Why it matters: Requirements of end users are important when growing malting barley, and a course offers farmers some insights.
Smith had some understanding of how the malt industry worked even before he took the course. As a seed grower, he learned out of necessity, to decide which varieties he should grow for his customers.
“It’s just coming to the understanding that the malt business runs at a much slower pace than most of the regular grain industry,” said Smith. “You have new varieties of wheat coming on that are better and higher yielding, and you can use them right away, whereas malting barley moves much more slowly.”
Insights
Peter Watts, managing director of the CMBTC, said the goal is to give Canadian producers a better understanding of what end users seek in malting barley.
“In order for Canada to be a premium supplier of malting barley and grow the best quality malting barley in the world, farmers need the knowledge and tools to be able to do that,” said Watts.
The one-and-a-half-day Malt Academy for Producers is a more laid-back version of the longer academy programs offered. That longer program is tailored for people who work in the malting industry — those in procurement, sales, or working as a maltster, Watts said.
It is designed so students gain top-notch theoretical training to prepare for their role in the industry.
“We call that our ‘intensive program,’” said Watts. “It’s pretty in-depth and can be a little bit dry and heavy.”
The three-day overview program is also tailored for people in the industry, but not necessarily for those working at a malting company.
“They might work for a grain company selling malting barley for export, or they might work in an elevator or in their analytical lab,” said Watts. “It’s a lighter program, from a technical standpoint, and has a little bit more focus on markets and trade.”
Watts says that is still a slightly different level than the program tailored specifically for farmers.
In Manitoba, it is offered in collaboration with the Manitoba Crop Alliance. But the CMBTC also offers the same program in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where it teams up with Alberta Grains and the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission.
“In the case of Saskatchewan and Alberta, we will actually travel there,” said Watts. Staff will set up a meeting space in the city where the course is held.
“But it’s nice to host the course in Manitoba, where attendees can view the facility.”
The curriculum
In a typical course, an agronomist discusses malt barley growth. This year, Andrew Hector from the Manitoba Crop Alliance filled that role, and sometimes a provincial extension specialist or in-house agronomist with one of the provincial grower associations will speak.
The centre often brings in representatives from the malting industry. This year, Gerald Girard from Malteurop gave a presentation on barley selection and Rick Lowe from Canterra Seeds hosted a presentation on pedigreed seed production.
“We’re trying to provide them with knowledge and tools that are going to help them in growing and marketing malt barley and understanding the industry,” said Watts.
Many farmers who sign up for the program don’t have much knowledge about the malting industry. Watts often hears that, before taking the course, participants knew little about what happens to the grain after it leaves their farms or about the unique properties of a malting barley crop.
“It’s really a specialty crop and very different from, say, wheat from that standpoint,” said Watts. “I think that the farmers are very surprised at the complexity on the malting, processing and brewing sides.”
But information doesn’t just flow only in one direction.
“We always learn from the people that come on our programs. Whether it’s the chat around the table at lunch or questions during the lectures, hearing about farmers’ business and how they operate is really important for us.”
And Watts says that’s true for any malt academies and any group of stakeholders.
“It helps us when we hear their questions, their comments, or the challenges they face — whether it’s a farmer, grain company representative, maltster or brewer — they bring their own knowledge and current information that they share with us that helps us do our jobs better.”
New addition to recommended malt variety list
The Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre has added a new variety to its list of recommended varieties for the first time in three years.
“AAC Churchill is a lower-enzyme variety, so it would tend to be more of a fit for the craft industry,” said managing director Peter Watts. Higher-enzyme varieties are generally preferred by mainstream brewers.
The list was released in late November. The other four varieties on the centre’s 2024-25 list are AAC Synergy, CDC Copeland, AAC Connect and CDC Fraser. Listed as “in development” are three other varieties: AB Brewnet, AAC Prairie, and AB Dram.
“With improved agronomics and disease resistance, new varieties have proven themselves to be high performers in Canadian fields, driving increased area. But there must be matching supply and demand,” says Jon White, board chair.
“It’s the classic chicken or egg scenario. Insufficient supply makes it challenging to source and sell enough quantities to international customers at a cost-effective rate. Yet, for producers to expand adoption, they want to ensure there is a market.”
Accepted varieties tend to change at a snail’s pace compared to other grains. The last two varieties added to the recommended list were AAC Fraser in 2021-22 and AAC Connect in 2018-19.
“Churchill is very new, but even with Connect and Fraser, we’re still working to get those varieties accepted by end users,” said Watts. “They are both fairly widely accepted now. But there’s still more work to do with those varieties.”
In terms of seeded acres, Synergy (32.2 per cent) has surpassed Copeland (22.3 per cent) across Western Canada. Connect represented 12.3 per cent of seeded acres, followed by Fraser (6.4 per cent) and Churchill (3.1 per cent).
The list always includes information on whether demand for each variety is increasing or decreasing, but this year’s list breaks demand into domestic and export categories.
The domestic demand for Churchill, Connect and Fraser is listed as growing, but for Synergy and Copeland, it is declining.
For export markets, Fraser and Connect are listed as growing, Churchill is listed as “developing,” and demand for Synergy and Copeland has peaked.
According to data from the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, Synergy is the most popular malt barley variety grown in the province and represents 10.3 per cent of the total barley acres planted.
The corporation does not differentiate between malt and feed barley, but according to Manitoba Agriculture cereals specialist Anne Kirk, malt barley makes up roughly 40 to 50 per cent of all barley acres.
The next most popular varieties are: Connect (10.2 per cent), Copeland (5.4 per cent), Metcalfe (3.7 per cent), and Fraser (2.6 per cent).
“Given the growing market acceptance of our new varieties and their improved agronomics, I would encourage producers who plan to grow barley in 2024 to consider a new malt variety if they have not already,” said Watts.
The centre also recommends that producers use certified seed to maintain varietal purity and increase the likelihood that their barley is selected for malt.
