Keep a close eye on the malting barley in your barn this year

Stuart Shand, sales director, Gleadell Agriculture, advises growers who still have their spring malting barley in the barn that this is a year where regular monitoring - and especially regular night time aeration - will pay dividends.

"This year’s crop was one of the wettest we have had in many years, while the germination quality was one of the worst - a very dangerous mix," Mr Shand warns. "Anyone who takes their eye off the ball will find they have feed barley to market when they come to open the shed doors.

"If you still have malting barley to sell, this is even more relevant, as the demand this side of Christmas is very thin. Obviously, if you are fortunate enough to have a drier you will have dried your barley by now and it should be relatively safe - as long as the germ is undamaged and you keep the barley cool.

"A very important point to remember is that you should always dry your barley at least three weeks before you load it - immediately after harvest is the best advice - as this gives it time to recover from the drying process which, in turn, produces a stronger germination reading for the maltster," Mr Shand adds.