Is Malt Barley penciling out for anyone?

[boarderbloke]

b'en working on final seeding plans today and can't seem to get Malt Barley to pencil out. Best offers here have been about $5.40 or so, currently sitting at around $5.20. Seems like there's little desire to buy acres and I would think by now, if that was going to happen, bidding would be under way, as is, with other crops. ie canola, HRS, flax, peas
I don't think alot of acres have been contracted as most had a trigger price closer to $5.99. Perhaps the end users are unconcerned because they plan to import from Russia or some other place, seeing ocean freight is so low.
Maybe other areas have seen better bids, this from SESK

[wd9]

If i could actually ship it. Stupid
Viterra, or whatever the hell its called
now.

[groundspeed]

What happens if u dont have malt quality, are you forced to sell to that company at their feed price?

[jamesb]

I think the maltsters up here are going to revamp the way they do business. these no act of contracts just dont cut it. the US grower contracts have AOG contracts. I feel the malt buyers have had it too easy under the old system. I think grower meetings and a desire to develop a closer relationship with their suppliers ( farmers) would be a good move .

[hobbyfrmr]

Wd9 & ground speed, you thoughts have
described my situation for 80% of my malt
growing experience.
The malt plants can go and pound sand. They are
a waste of my time, my land and my productive
energy.

[boarderbloke]

groundspeed, YES, from the different co.s I've talked with, YES, you still have to provide them your barley even if it doesn't make malt. Also, noone will provide spreads or differentials. The co. arguement will be that the farmer won't have to look for malt barley to replace the tonnes he intially contracted, (Because the contracts ARE NOT AOG) Not sure if high protein would be considered AOG even if they were available. From a farmers prosective, having a sample rejected for malt grade is common. Also what is common is have the very same sample excepted 6 or 10 weeks later, sometimes by the same co., sometimes by another, but after the rejection you won't be able to shop your samples. Also there is a lot of room between Canadian standard malt grades and #1 Fd. meaning malt barley for the USA, China and likely many other countries. Will I be left to take feed prices because it didn't make Canadian malt standards, yet the co. will bin it and sell low quality malt barley above feed prices. Yes feed barley prices are high now, but it won't always be that way.

[tipsy]

I'll wait and see how others make out in the era before I get back into growing malt barley. And btw the present malt prices do not work for my farm.

[boarderbloke]

This story may have just made up my mind!

http://www.agrimoney.com/news/switch-to-barley-to-sink-argentinas-wheat-exports--4322.html

[ColevilleH2S]

boarderbloke
This quote from the [URL="http://www.agrimoney.com/news/switch-to-barley-to-sink-argentinas-wheat-exports--4322.html"]Article[/URL] reminds me of something closer to home;

"Producers are finding barley a very good alternative to wheat as the government does not intervene in barley marketing," the attaches said.


Argentina is only one of several reasons why I will not be growing malt next year. Malt barley is a crop I have grown every year since I started farming in '99. A crop I have a soft spot for because it saved my bacon during the 2001 and 02 droughts. But I have had enough with the games the buyers play. They are destroying their own industry. And I don't intend on being on that ship when it sinks.

I get angry just thinking about this. Grrr.