UK: Barley yields range from 5 to 7.5 t per hectare fom more than 50% of the cut harvest

An estimated 15-20 per cent of Scotland's spring barley has been cut with the rain and mist of the past few days, with more forecast, putting the brakes on, The Scotsman published August 19.

But on results so far, and from the more than 50 per cent of the English spring barley harvest estimated to have been cut, quality is reasonable and yields ranging from 5 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes per hectare.

At the same time, the latest malting barley news report from the Home-Grown Cereals Authority indicates a tightening EU malting barley balance sheet, with last year's surplus of 1.9 million tonnes cut to 300,000 tonnes.

David Cranstoun, cereals consultant to SAC, was characteristically upbeat in his estimates of likely supplies, particularly for those from Angus and further south as well as the north side of the Moray Firth. He has his reservations about production in the Grampian area.

He said August 18: "So far, the crops that have come in are a little bit higher in nitrogen than last year, screenings are lower and yields are comfortable." He also forecast the need for a change in cropping varieties with a move away from the malsters' current favourite, Optic, with newer varieties, such as Oxbridge and possibly Cocktail showing increasing promise.

Simon Berry, chief executive of the Black Isle-based Highland Grain co-operative group, is also fairly optimistic, although he, too, admits it is early days. Quality in terms of grain size and nitrogen content suitable for distilling are forecast to be on target.

Further south, Robin Barron, general manager of the East of Scotland Farmers group, has found little to complain about in yields and quality so far with about 50 per cent of the malting barley from the co-op's 100 producers safely gathered in.

But he maintains he is not yet in a hurry to sell, indicating a belief that tighter supplies could push the market up as the harvest goes on.

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