Decisions taken this week by tillage farmers will determine the actual tonnages of malting barley produced in Ireland this year.
And this outcome has all to do with the levels of nitrogen put on crops of spring barley.
Fertiliser apart, I am reliably informed of there being three key stages in the development of the perfect malting barley crop: an early sowing window; a wet and windy month of May; and the obligatory dry ground and weather conditions during the harvest window.
To date, the first of these target criteria has been met. So we await with interest to see how the weather progresses throughout the remainder of the 2025 growing season.
Malting barley
Meanwhile, the ‘twitchiness’ at grower level regarding the potential of malting barley to really deliver a decent margin for them in 2025 remains palpable.
But all of this ‘background noise’ seems so unnecessary, given the tremendous worth of the drinks industry to the Irish economy.
So how have we arrived at the stage where year-to-year decisions at grower level control, in reality, the fortunes of a sector that creates so much added value across the Irish economy as a whole?
Firstly, let us clear lines on one issue – the commentary from some stakeholders to the effect that malting barley is a commodity product that can be imported from other countries as and when required doesn’t stack up.
Guinness, for instance, is as Irish as shamrock. And the idea that the ‘black stuff’ made at St. James’ Gate could ever be made from barley other than Irish barley totally shatters the provenance and heritage attributes that are so closely associated with the drink.
Meanwhile, malting barley growers are striving to secure a long-term, sustainable future from their endeavours.
So why do the malsters not recognise this reality and work with growers accordingly?
So, instead of working on annual contracts with farmers, why not extend that period out to five years and work through a price schedule based around a longer term commitment from all parties’ perspective?
Taking such an approach would give stability to all the parties involved. And there are lots of precedents to draw from within agriculture confirming that such an approach works.
For example, banks approach their farming clients today with a five-year business plan in mind.
Lenders are no longer concerned, for example, with the monthly variations in milk price. Rather they want to know if their clients are on top of their game, technically, and whether they have the economic skills to run a viable business.
Pig farmers are a ‘cause celebre’ in this regard.  For the two years up to the beginning of 2024, they had been losing money hand over fist – there was just too much pork available around the world relative to demand.
However, for the most part, the banks stuck with their pig farming clients.
Fast forward to the spring of 2025 and most Irish pig farmers can look back over almost 18 months of reasonable returns, the opportunity to wipe out all of their existing debts, and more significantly, start again to invest in the future of their businesses.
So, is it not time that we got to the stage where malting barley growers stopped the annual haggling over the prices they get and started to really concentrate on driving the technical efficiency of their businesses?
But getting this to happen will require the malsters, the grain merchants, and the Irish drinks sector to play ball.
