I believe Boortmalt should meet with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) to discuss the outcome of the 2023 malting barley harvest.
I make this point because, in response to a direct question from Agriland, the company confirmed its intention to maintain a “regular dialogue” with the farming organisation.
At the time, I immediately took this as a strong affirmation to the effect that a meeting would take place. However, on reflection, there is a world of difference between what is constituted by the term ‘regular dialogue’ and two parties physically sitting around the same table.
The background to all of this is the challenging outcome to this year’s malting barley harvest. By common consent, 2023 has been one of the most difficult growing seasons experienced by spring barley growers in decades.
And the weather has been totally to blame. The end result has been very poor grain yields and matching quality criteria.
Given these circumstances, is Boortmalt not honour-bound to sit down with the IFA and discuss what can be done to facilitate the needs of growers?
The obvious way forward is for the malting operation to agree some tweaking of the grain quality criteria for the current Irish crop in ways that makes sense for all parties involved.
Boortmalt and Ireland
This time last year Boortmalt executives came to Ireland. They stressed the commitment of the company to further support the malting barley industry at farm level.
The overall aim, they stressed, was that of providing their growers with the means of generating the highest margins within the cereals sector.
As we all know, that was quite an easy claim to make back then. Irish cereal growers were enjoying the most successful harvest ever, with grain prices to match. And, yes, malting barley crops did leave the highest gross margin within the tillage sector in 2022.
But 12 months on, malting barley growers find themselves facing into a polar opposite scenario.
Every indicator of profitability and sustainability within their sector has nose-dived in 2023. And there was nothing at all that the farmers affected by all of this could do to prevent it from happening.
But at the end of the day, these same growers are the people who underpin a selection of the world’s most exclusive drinks brands.
This is why it is so important for Boortmalt to meet with the IFA over the coming days.