With all the talk and action around livestock feedlots, hog mega-barns and diversification, the average farmer is asking himself, "What crop can I grow to take advantage of the current marketing opportunity? Is there something that we can do that will overcome the "secret" to achieving malting quality for our barley?" Like any rotational crop, we need to find ways to make it pay. Sometimes malt varieties yield less than feed varieties; so we must try to ensure it goes malt. There are a number of things we can do to increase our chances. We may have thought that the only way to get acceptance in the past was to either know the grader or just keep submitting samples until we got malt. We now know different.
There is a lot more to growing malt barley than just sticking the seed in the ground and hoping for the best. In fact, good seeding practices will get you started right to produce a crop acceptable for malting. Malt barley is a "special crop"- special in that achieving success takes special attention right from field selection to harvest and storage. Maltsters are fussy and farmers should be just as particular.
Firstly, we can select the right field, the right variety, the right seeding method, the right fertility program, the right weed control and the right harvest and storage treatment. A lot of "rights" can be ruined by just one "wrong".
The right field is a uniform field that allows early seeding, doesn't have wheat or durum stubble, or barley stubble of another variety, and probably is not a pulse stubble because of the chance of having unacceptably high protein in the sample. Some farmers prefer to go to these pulse fields, however, watch out for herbicide residue challenges, so check your field records form the past few years. A good field also has the past residue evenly spread across the field to avoid poor emergence.
The chaff row is often the forgotten factor, as it can prevent good seed-to-soil contact. Poorly spread chaff rows are usually thinner stands with more disease, later in maturity and will cheat you out of about a third of your potential yield. In addition, that is where you will more likely find thin kernels in enough quantity to reject the sample from malting grade. Variety is the million dollar question in many parts of this country, and it pays to do your homework to find out if a variety has a good acceptance record for your area, particularly where you intend to deliver it. Seed quality is of high importance, and certified seed is pretty much considered a must especially when it comes to guaranteed purity of that variety. Pedigreed seed also ensures good, even germination and minimum weed content.
Seeding date is very important, and early seeding is recommended, mainly to take advantage of your available moisture to maximize yield. You have more tillering under good moisture, and heads will fill prior to the August heat. That heat can increase the chance of thin kernels and higher protein levels. In any case, aim to seed your barley at least in the first third of your seeding period.
Seeding rate is important to ensure an even stand and further achieve even maturity. Seed treatments are usually a good investment, since you will be seeding early.
Fertility is also a very important consideration in the successful production of acceptable malting quality barley. Start with a soil sample to help determine what level of nutrient additions you may be looking at. You want yield, but not protein, so it is a bit of a balancing act, especially since moisture during the growing season can play such a big role. A good balanced fertility program should provide adequate amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur and potassium. Nitrogen is necessary for yield; phosphorous aids maturity; sulphur and potassium prevent disease to an extent.
Weed control is always an important factor in the production of any prairie crop and malting barley is no exception. The guideline here is to control the weeds with the gentlest herbicide necessary to still get the job done. It is also a good idea to control the weeds early, as they are easiest to kill at that stage, and barley is more tolerant. Barley is pretty competitive once it gets going, but wild oats will be a big downgrading factor in malt acceptance. Broadleaf weed control is up to the operator and the area, but try to avoid spraying crops when they are under stress to avoid the chance of injury or hinder tillering.
Diseases are very important in producing malting quality. Most years the weather doesn't favour the production of a lot of disease, but fields should be scouted and treated accordingly. Good rotations help, as do certified seed and fungicidal seed treatments. Foliar fungicides have been developed to a greater extent in the last few years and can maintain yield against disease, and have also shown an increase in the percentage of plump kernels. The timing of foliars is usually at early flag leaf to protect the top leaves and full flag to protect and fill the head.
Harvest is the truly critical time of the production year, and extra efforts taken at this time will usually pay big rewards. Mistakes in harvesting can be that one "wrong" that wipes out all the other "rights" that have taken place over the growing season.
Swathing is usually the right thing to do especially with 6-row, because of the shatter loss potential. It is also easier to control the moisture content of the finished product if it is swathed, although some producers insist they can straight cut "everything." A 30% moisture content at the swath day is good, and combining right at the 14.5% is highly desirable. A treatment in an air flow storage is a valuable tool for malting quality barley. Dessication is not recommended, nor is heat drying, because of the potential damage to the germination process required for malt production.
Combine operation is also critical, and great care must be taken not or crack or peel the seed coat. Cylinder or rotor speed must be low to ensure an undamaged kernel with a short awn left on. Grain augers should not be run at a high rate of speed, especially if they are not full. Every time through an auger causes damage to the quality, and the maltsters buy "quality" not always quantity. A vacuum is not a recommended tool if you expect to assure malting quality barley leaving the farm.
In summary, it pays to plan your strategy. Select the field, use certified seed, fertilize properly, employ good weed control measures, and watch carefully for disease. Harvesting is the critical time for successful completion of the malting barley production season, so take extra care at that time. Storage is important and marketing is always one of the key elements to a profitable picture.
If you had less than desirable results from chickpea challenges last year, want a crop that is not subject to midge, has potential for rewarding careful production techniques, then maybe, have a close look at malt barley for 2001.
Bob will send you a slide of a chaff row to accompany this article.