Barley - 6 row or 2 row?

[Brisel]

3C, Moddus, Terpal & light soil that always needs 10 - 15% more N than heavier soils.

 

[Farmer Dod]

Bushel weight is our main issue with six rows although now growing a bit of Escadre-there might be a slight yield penalty however no issues with bushel weight. A very nice sample.

 

[SRRC]

Serious question @SRRC - would you pay a premium for 2 row?

Poor bushel weight barley won't flow through the system, it hangs up in bins etc and for the reasons Gilchro sets out below it's worth me buying at the best specific weight I can, certainly anything less than 63kg/hl I will try to avoid if I have the choice. Pay a premium? Yes, a modest one for a really good sample. But, and this is not fully grasped by many growers, I expect a decent sample as standard. If you present me with a bushel weight under 63 then you will get hammered at £1.50/point/tonne or rejected. I see many samples that are poor because of inadequate combine setup, lots of ailes and small grains.

Sort of.
Everyone works from fairly standard figures for barley, generally around 13.2 ME but it can and does vary.
Basically low specific weight means a lot of shell and not a lot of starch and starch is the reason for feeding barley.

I was let down on a number of farms in 2012 by the quality of barley that the farmers were left with. We mainly replaced it with ground maize. It did that good a job that quite a few guys are still feeding it!

 

[bog/man]

just harvested a field of Leibniz winter barley 6 row 3.5 t/ac and ten bales straw happy enouf I suppose.

 

[hindmaist]

Six row might produce a bit more grain yield per acre,but that extra grain yield won't translate into extra meat yield per acre.

 

[SRRC]

Exactly, that's why the likes of me don't want to buy it!
For goodness sakes grow what your market wants!

 

[Gilchro]

Exactly, that's why the likes of me don't want to buy it!
For goodness sakes grow what your market wants!

Ah no, why would you do that.

The input man says variety x is awesome so you should grow it....

And he's a good lad, comes round regularly for a cup of tea and a chat and he keeps me right....

And his firm looks after him. Just got him a nice new Audi and he's just back from a holiday in the Caribbean.

Oh and he gives me free crop walking too. Of course, variety x does need a wee bit more chemical but it's only going on at half rate and anyway it yields better.

 

[4course]

Exactly, that's why the likes of me don't want to buy it!
For goodness sakes grow what your market wants!

is it just me but I was taught a ton of coal weighs the same as a ton of feathers but volume is not the same imo they guy who named the variety volume was right

 

[Gilchro]

is it just me but I was taught a ton of coal weighs the same as a ton of feathers but volume is not the same imo they guy who named the variety volume was right

A tonne of 20:10:10 weighs the same as a tonne of 34.5N.
Do they do the same job?

 

[Brisel]

But here 6 row makes the same price ex farm as 2 row as long as it is within standard spec for moisture, specific weight etc.

 

[4course]

But here 6 row makes the same price ex farm as 2 row as long as it is within standard spec for moisture, specific weight etc.

here 2 local chicken feed mills state on their contracts no 6row

 

[SRRC]

If it makes the required quality then it's not a problem, the issue over the years has been growers persistently offering it when it fails to make it. Buyers are always nervous as a result.

 

[Tompkins]

The WB area on this farm will be reduced considerably this year due to not being worth much, and what we do plant will be 2 row.
Tried Volume the last two years and it has failed to impress me. Admittedly what we planted in Oct 2012 should have stayed in the bag, but this years barely scraped 8t/ha compared to Cassia drilled later which did nearer 9t/ha, and was a beautiful sample (68-72). I cant justify the extra cost of the seed with these results.

 

[SilliamWhale]

How is it that KWS seem to be the company coming up with so many decent winter barleys?

 

[franklin]

How is it that KWS seem to be the company coming up with so many decent winter barleys?

I think it has something to do with winter barley being a relic crop 10 years ago. Loads are busy breeding spring barleys.

 

[Brisel]

Maybe KWS have some decent breeding stock, or a better marketing budget.

 

[Northdowns Martin]

Silly question maybe but do buyers want 2 row and 6 row stored separately or ok to put both together in heap?

 

[SRRC]

Assuming it's for feed then it doesn't really matter provided that the overall spec meets requirements. However, before you mix them you need to be aware of what your buyer may ask for, some may demand single varieties.
If you find yourself in the common position of having acceptable quality 2 row but unacceptable 6 row, then be careful that mixing them in an attempt to raise the 6 to a better ha/kg doesn't backfire and you end up having made the 2 row unacceptable.