USA: The ND’s barley crop experienced a wide variation in yield and quality in 2005
North Dakota's barley harvest has been completed for some time now and quality reports are starting to come in on this season's crop, Farm & Ranch Guide cited Steve Edwardson, executive administrator of the ND Barley Council, on November 10.
“The North Dakota barley crop experienced a wide variation in yield and quality in 2005,” Edwardson said. “Barley produced in western North Dakota had lower to negligible levels of DON, whereas wet conditions in the eastern part of the state resulted in DON levels in the range of 1.0 to 8.0 parts per million. In general, the barley crop in the western part of the state was of good quality, with overall crop quality decreasing when moving from west to east in the state.”
The ND Barley Council provided the following information on how the 2005 barley crop compared with the 5-year average. Note: barley samples were collected from across North Dakota. The samples were analyzed by the Department of Plant Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo.
The higher levels of DON in eastern North Dakota will increase the quantity of feed barley, Edwardson said, and with the large corn supplies, feed barley prices will be pressured with very limited upward potential. Good quality malting barley, on the other hand, will likely have some upward price potential and the market is showing some signs of strengthening.
Edwardson predicts malting companies will likely begin holding grower contract meetings in November and December as they attempt to assess production potential for 2006. “With many growers experiencing favorable yields in corn and soybeans, competition for acres will need to be carefully evaluated,” he said.
In recent years barley production in the state has undergone a general downward trend, according to Edwardson, who referenced his assessment on the following table. Edwardson reports current feed barley prices range from $1.20 to $1.40 a bushel, while the range in prices for malting barley was $1.80 to $2.20.
A check of barley prices at local elevators on the website smallgrains.org indicated feed barley prices remained fairly steady during the past two weeks, while malting barley was unchanged to 20 cents higher. Feed barley prices fell into a narrow range of $1.24 to $1.42, while malting prices were quoted at a low of $1.90 to a high of $2.20.
Zurück
E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .
