All agricultural sectors are being affected by the impact of Covid-19. This week tillage farmers took a blow when Boortmalt announced it is to cut its contracts.
Malting barley farmers are now facing into a year of fairly poor grain prices with the addition of their “premium” crops contract being cut dramatically.
So as a consumer what can you do to help?
You can choose to purchase products made from Irish grain.
In the first instance Boortmalt has cut contracts due mainly to a massive decline in demand as a result of the closure of pubs, one of its biggest customers is Diageo which produces Guinness.
By logging onto beercloud.ie you can find these smaller producers who need some support. Among them are names like Ballykilcavan Brewery and 12 acres, while The Cider Mill uses Irish apples in its products.
On the distilling side of things, AgriLand has featured some really progressive distilleries on this site producing spirits from grain grown on their own farm and from Irish farms. This autumn, Waterford Distillery plans to launch its whisky which can be traced from the farm to the bottle.
Ballykeefe Distillery is another great example of a farm to bottle product.
As always when purchasing drinks you have to examine the label, not all breweries use Irish grain and some only use a percentage so keep an eye out for that!
On the breakfast table
Irish porridge is probably one of the easiest things to buy. Flahavan’s takes in oats from farmers in the south-east and processes that grain in Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford. It also produces products like flapjacks and convenience food.
Glanbia’s gluten-free oats business ensures all markets are catered for. Avonmore’s ‘Good to go’ porridge is produced from Irish oats and Irish milk – a great example of how the industry can work together.
There are also many smaller organic producers out there. Kilbeggan is a brand producing everything from porridge to cookies.
The Merry Mill in Co. Laois grows organic, gluten-free oats. A range of flours and porridge is available and this season the company is working on an oat drink.
Flour
Irish flour is a rareity these days and really you need to look at the smaller mills if you want to purchase a native product made from Irish grain.
Brands like Dunany Flour Organic in Co. Louth produce wholemeal, plain, spelt and rye flour. Ballymore Organics in Co. Kildare produces wholemeal and plain flour.