FARMERS who grew the new Hindmarsh barley variety will be watching with interest when the first results of commercial malting trials come out in March.
While barley industry officials have warned growers that they must currently approach Hindmarsh as a pure feed variety, given it does have malt accreditation as yet, many farmers and even some bulk handlers have stored Hindmarsh separately, as there is a small demand for commercial scale trials.
There will be no official malt market for the variety until 2011 when Barley Australia hands down its final approval in March next year, after the two-year trial is complete.
The barley, grown through low rainfall zones in WA, SA, Victoria and NSW, has won plaudits for its agronomic performance.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) grains group president Russell Amery said that Hindmarsh was proving the strongest variety through the Mallee.
"Agronomically, it outyields everything else by a considerable margin; we’re talking 10-15pc, not just a small increase," he said.
"I think farmers through the Mallee will definitely be hoping it makes the malt grade, just because of its performance in the region.
"I’ve even heard farmers say they don’t think there will be much malt barley coming from up here if it doesn’t make the malt standards, as farmers will still stick with it, growing it purely as a feed variety, just purely because of its ability to produce in our part of the world."
Mr Amery said the old popular malting variety Schooner had only made malting specifications through his local Wycheproof area three years out of the past ten, meaning growers did not feel they were losing anything by growing a more reliable feed line.
The barley trials are being done over two years, with Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) grains industry officer Mary Raynes saying that it will be at least March 2011 before Barley Australia ruled on the classification of Hindmarsh.
However some farmers are hoping to sell it for use in the commercial malting trials, with around 2000 tonnes of this year's Hindmarsh barley harvest being tested by national maltster Viterra Malt (formerly Joe White Maltings) and Melbourne-based Barrett Burston Malting as part of the second year of commercial malt and brewing evaluation.
There have also been segregations at Wimmera bulk handling sites designated to meet this demand.
Viterra Malt technical manager Doug Stewart said Hindmarsh had the potential to help make the malting barley sector more sustainable.
"If the evaluation process demonstrates that it possesses malting quality, there is an inherent upside for both grower and maltster alike," Dr Stewart said
"The grower will receive good yields and the opportunity for a malting premium and the maltster has a reliable source of malting barley.
"We await the result of the first year of appraisal early in the new year to see if we will progress to year two."
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