Does barley still stack up?

Steevo · Sep 10, 2020

Reading one market report yesterday, barley is currently trading at a £44/t discount to wheat.

Is anyone changing their barley acreage as a result, or are people hoping it will come back in time?

Personally we put everything we could last year into wheat, and will be doing likewise again this season. We will still grow a couple of fields of spring barley where it's rotationally/agronomically convenient.

teslacoils · Sep 10, 2020

Everyone is planting wheat. Just wheat. Good as zero osr in. Everything that can be wheat will be. Barley is grown for ad rather than grain. Rotations are stuffed now.

ajd132 · Sep 10, 2020

We will carry on with malting barley, not feed though

Steevo · Sep 10, 2020

ajd132 said:
We will carry on with malting barley, not feed though

I assume the malting barley is contracted? Are they priced relative to the wheat price?

DRC · Sep 10, 2020

This is the dilemma I’m having . Barley is so far behind wheat ( feed), in monetary terms, but how much is the spread of harvest, straw and the ability to get stubble turnips planted early , worth ?

Renaultman · Sep 10, 2020

silverfox said:
This is the dilemma I’m having . Barley is so far behind wheat ( feed), in monetary terms, but how much is the spread of harvest, straw and the ability to get stubble turnips planted early , worth ?

My best crop of OSR is after winter barley again.

Chae1 · Sep 10, 2020

Don't bother sowing barley. Waste of time.

Zippy768 · Sep 10, 2020

silverfox said:
This is the dilemma I’m having . Barley is so far behind wheat ( feed), in monetary terms, but how much is the spread of harvest, straw and the ability to get stubble turnips planted early , worth ?

Will continue with WB where it's due. On the livestock front, straw is valuable and grain can go straight into our store ready for crimping. Nice to get a few acres cut and cleared early on.
But without OSR here anymore I dont need the early entry.
Very impressed with how our - unplanned increased area - of SB came off.
Thought everything would had clashed.

That said, I'm still hauling Barley bales off the fields

DrWazzock · Sep 10, 2020

You need a mix of crops. Who knows what the situation will be this time next year.
Barley stacks up if it’s wet enough.

Nitrams · Sep 10, 2020

Everyone should plant barley, as above everyone is planting wheat..do the opposite. I will take one for the team and plant wheat.

neilo · Sep 10, 2020

It's only this year that the price differential is so huge, due to supply & demand. If everyone switches to wheat, the differential will be bugger all, so please everyone do it.

ajd132 · Sep 10, 2020

Steevo said:
I assume the malting barley is contracted? Are they priced relative to the wheat price?

Mostly. There is no point making knee jerk reactions based on the current climate.
It wasn’t long ago we were £190t and hitting 8.5t/ha for spring malting barley!

Clive · Sep 10, 2020

Steevo said:
Reading one market report yesterday, barley is currently trading at a £44/t discount to wheat.

Is anyone changing their barley acreage as a result, or are people hoping it will come back in time?

Personally we put everything we could last year into wheat, and will be doing likewise again this season. We will still grow a couple of fields of spring barley where it's rotationally/agronomically convenient.

I'm planting barley for the first time in a decade ............................ don't follow the herd!

David. · Sep 10, 2020

If growing st.turnips or osr the early entry w.barley gives you is worth more than the discount.
I'd say in a "normal" year 3 ton/ac of spring barley is as profitable as everything else bar a good crop of wheat.

warksfarmer · Sep 10, 2020

Steevo said:
Reading one market report yesterday, barley is currently trading at a £44/t discount to wheat.

Is anyone changing their barley acreage as a result, or are people hoping it will come back in time?

Personally we put everything we could last year into wheat, and will be doing likewise again this season. We will still grow a couple of fields of spring barley where it's rotationally/agronomically convenient.

Not my favourite crop. It’s horrible to cut generally and it’s taken the combine 3 weeks to cut 500ac this year. Obviously weathers played a big part in that but even when cutting it’s a very slow job around 3.5km/hr. Anything faster and it’ll come over the back. Also you need to bank on loosing heads. Last year we lost 1/3 of the crop so timing is critical. I reckon the old saying of when you think barley is ready go on holiday for a week is a load of crap. When you think it’s ready cut it, even if there’s a bit of green because in a weeks time you’ll have heads on the floor.

It’s nigh on impossible to make malting on our soil so the feed market price and 3t/acre (normal year) isn’t exactly great.
That said it’s smoothers blackgrass and ryegrass out like nothing else, if you plant a big seed rate that is. Anywhere the germination isn’t great grass weeds will win. Get a good seed/soil contact and you’ve beaten the grass weeds before you start.

4course · Sep 10, 2020

I would say this year having just cut 2 fields of sp barley the margin at current prices will be more than a fair % of our wheat crops more t/acre both grain and straw better price for barley straw 1/2 the growing costs the wb is even better ,but its the ww thats poor not the barley thats great

Brisel · Sep 10, 2020

I wouldn’t change policy based on current prices - last year wheat and barley were at parity for feed.

It is a useful crop as a second or third cereal when you consider the alternatives and straw. On lighter land second wheat isn’t an option and the early harvest of winters helps summer logistics.

Frodo · Sep 10, 2020

Steevo said:
Reading one market report yesterday, barley is currently trading at a £44/t discount to wheat.

Is anyone changing their barley acreage as a result, or are people hoping it will come back in time?

Personally we put everything we could last year into wheat, and will be doing likewise again this season. We will still grow a couple of fields of spring barley where it's rotationally/agronomically convenient.

At £44t discount surely every nutritionist in the land is changing ration to max out barley, or is it not that simple?

Brisel · Sep 10, 2020

Merchants would say that wheat is too expensive...! Barley is competing with imported zero tariff maize in feed rations. There are limits of inclusion rates for pig and poultry rations but for ruminants anything goes in as long as the whole meets the spec for energy, protein etc.

T Hectares · Sep 10, 2020

Chae1 said:
Don't bother sowing barley. Waste of time.

Couldn’t agree more

Does barley still stack up?

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100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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