Malting barley: 7 ways to make the grade

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In a perfect world, there would be a straight line between seeding a malt variety in the spring and harvesting malt barley in the fall. But that, as many growers know, is not always the case.

It takes a barley grader less than a minute to check a sample for plumpness, off-types discolouration and damage, among many other visual grading criteria. Then it’s checked for germ, protein, moisture content and disease levels in a stringent process that ensures only the highest quality grain enters the malting process.

And while barley growers have no control over some damage-inducing factors, say an early frost before harvest, they do have a high level of control over many other factors, such as seed selection, fertility and weed control, that can mean making the grade or not.

Stephen Vandervalk knows that. With his brother and father, he farms 10,000 acres split roughly 60:40 between Claresholm and Fort Macleod, Alberta. For him, making the grade has everything to do with the agronomic choices he makes throughout the year – choices that almost guarantee malt in a good year, and at least help to mitigate potential damage in a bad one.

Making the grade

Vandervalk is just getting back into malt barley production after a five-year hiatus when prices were low. “We grew malt prior to 2002,” he says. “And we started growing again in 2007.” The 1,000 acres seeded to malt last year will be bumped up to 1,500 acres this year, while the rest of the farm will go to canola, spring wheat, durum, feed barley, mustard and timothy hay.

Part of the decision to expand malt acres is market driven and about minimizing risk. “I can’t forward contract wheat,” he says. “So, if you figure $7 barley and $9 wheat, the barley is a lot less risky when you have contracts that have an ‘Act of God’ clause in them. If things go wrong, I’m covered.”

But with a couple of April snowstorms providing some early season moisture and a potentially good summer ahead, Vandervalk is already planning for success. 

Field selection. Malt barley should be sown on clean fields with good drainage. There’s about 20 kilometres between the Vandervalks’ two farm sites in Fort Macleod and Claresholm and, while the soil type between the two is similar, that distance makes all the difference. “We have heavier soils in Claresholm,” says Vandervalk. “It doubles our chances of malt so that’s where we put it.” More rain and much less wind in this location also help.

Watching rotations is key to breaking disease cycles and reducing off-types. “We usually try to seed malt onto oilseed stubble,” he says. But this year, with his malt acreage expanding, Vandervalk is taking a bit of a risk by seeding some of it onto malt stubble. “It might be higher protein, but I think we can manage it.”

Seed selection. “We use Metcalf because it’s the most sought after malt variety,” says Vandervalk. It’s also one of the highest yielding two-row varieties available to growers. 

Varietal purity is major concern for barley selectors, which is why Vandervalk includes certified seed in his production plans. “We used certified seed last year when we were getting started again,” he says. This year, he’s using some of last year’s production as his seed source, “but we won’t do it a third year,” he says, explaining that he’ll go back to certified seed in 2009 to protect purity, reduce weeds and off-types and ensure performance.

Seeding date. Staining, shriveling and cracking caused by poor late season weather are all reasons to reject a malt sample.

Early seeding is a major contributor to higher yields and plump kernels, which is why Vandervalk seeds all the farm’s barley acres first, malt and feed, even before the canola.

“We plant all the barley first and, of that, the malt goes in first” he says. “We get going as early as we can – we’re usually going by the middle of April. After May 10, our yields start going down.”

Seeding rate. With most crops, higher seeding rates are recommended to improve yield potential and cut weed competition. With malt barley, lower rates can contribute to one of the main quality criteria selectors are looking for: kernel plumpness.

Vandervalk seeds at one bushel per acre and has actually gone as low as three quarters of a bushel per acre on occasion. “With one bushel per acre, we get more tillering and more opportunity for plump kernels,” he says. “Weed competition isn’t an issue for us just now with all the new chemicals coming out.”

Fertilizer. There’s a line between getting the yields you want and the protein levels you need to make the grade (between 10.5 and 13 per cent). 

A good fertility program will aim for high yields without boosting protein, so care needs to be taken, particularly with nitrogen. Experts recommend soil testing to help ensure the accuracy of a fertilizer program.

For Vandervalk, fertility is a major component of his malt plans, and he doesn’t cut back on fertilizer in an effort to get the yields he’s after. “We’ll put on 60 to 70 pounds N, depending on the year – if it’s too dry, we’ll go with less,” he says. “Basically we have a 60-15-00 blend, and no potash since the land already has quite a bit of potash already.”

Weed control. Weeds rob the crop of moisture and nutrients, not to mention the hassle of having to clean out off-types. But the big concern for most malt growers is the crop safety of herbicides – barley submitted for malt selection will be rejected if there is any chemical damage or residue. For Vandervalk, the big watch-out is having a herbicide cause any kind of crop damage.

“We exclusively use Liquid Achieve on all our barley acres,” he says. “A lot of guys won’t spray wild oats in barley because of the potential for damage. But we always spray Achieve because it’s really easy on the crop, it won’t stunt it and you can spray it at an early leaf stage.”

Harvest. It’s when Mother Nature has the most potential to do her worst. Wet conditions as the crop matures can lead to early germination and rejection. Weathering damage in the swath, or an early frost can lead to damage that will result in a rejected sample.

Vandervalk straight cuts, avoiding the swath altogether, and also makes sure that the malt barley is the first crop to come off. “We combine it before the feed,” he says. “It’s the shortest day crop, so when we seed it first, it’s usually the first off.”

With commodity prices what they are, it makes sense to Vandervalk to be back in malt, but only if he takes the time and attention it needs to meet the selection standards. “Feed barley is around $5 to $5.50 a bushel, and malt is at $7 just now,” he says. “That’s a $1.50 to $2 spread.” It’ll make a big difference to him to make the grade.