GROWERS are confused and claim they're still receiving mixed messages when it comes to grain market pathways in WA.
A call for clear communication to be exchanged between marketers and grain breeders to ensure all those involved in the industry are on the same page when it comes to planning next year's crop came one day before Barley Australia announced the very popular Hindmarsh variety fell short of achieving its malt accreditation.
At the GIWA Seeding Success seminar, Agrarian Management consultant Craig Topham, Geraldton, said the confusion was still firmly on the minds of agronomists, consultants and growers throughout the State and had been for far too long.
He said growers throughout the Wheatbelt and northern growing regions of WA needed varieties released to be in extremely strong demand by marketing companies.
"Marketers and breeders need more open communication," Mr Topham said.
"Since the change in the marketing structure and the deregulation of the market there has been a huge break-down in communication.
"Once upon a time AWB drove all of the decisions when it came to variety demands, but now we have a whole heap of different marketers chasing different markets and it's starting to get messy."
Mr Topham also said marketing companies should be more specific in communicating which variety they needed and growers should respond by growing that particular variety.
Pacific Seeds Canola business manager Justin Kudnig disagreed with Mr Topham and said that "blanket" plantings were not a good idea.
"In today's climate, risk needs to be spread across the farm," Mr Kudnig said.
"Putting in something that fits all would more than likely be low yielding not to mention irresponsible as an agronomist providing advice to a client."
The 2007-released barley variety Hindmarsh had become increasingly popular in many regions of Australia including WA's northern growing zones.
Last week Hindmarsh failed to meet the standards set by the Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee (MBIBTC) for accreditation as a malting barley variety in its second and final year of evaluation.
An MBIBTC spokesperson said that Hindmarsh didn't have the required malting quality characteristics to warrant it being granted accreditation and the committee wouldn't be recommending to Barley Australia that it should be granted official malting barley variety status in Australia.
The MBIBTC decision came after the completion of final tests which indicated that its malt quality was regularly compromised by unacceptable levels of high wort beta glucan and viscosity.
During the brewing process such high levels can result in difficulties in the separation of the wort from the mash and create problems with beer filtration.
Hindmarsh was admitted to the Barley Australia varietal accreditation program in 2008 and progressed from stage one to stage two evaluation in 2009 with the recommendation of members of the MBIBTC.
During 2009 deliberations the MBIBTC committee was aware that earlier small-scale malting trials conducted before the official admission into the Barley Australia varietal accreditation program uncovered some of these quality problems but they didn't appear in the first year of official evaluation on a limited commercial tonnage.
The reappearance of such problems this year demonstrated a lack of consistency in the results achieved from year to year for Hindmarsh which also caused significant concern among maltsters.
Normally Barley Australia announced the results of malting barley evaluations in March each year but given the large increase in the plantings of this variety and the high expectations riding on Hindmarsh in achieving malting status the organisation decided to announce the MBIBTC's decision not to recommend malting status for this variety straight away.
The Geraldton growing zone traditionally produced noodle wheat and barley varieties and in this dry season delivered predominantly hard wheats to market.
"There's a bulk-up of Hindmarsh around Geraldton," Mr Topham said.
"It's agronomically suited to our region and climate so a lot of people grow it, and will continue to do so even though it missed its accreditation.
"It would have been the icing on the cake but the Hindmarsh produced up here will still take a market share.
"Despite the fact it missed its accreditation farmers will still grow it because of its high yield, even if it goes as feed."
Barley Australia executive manager Neil Baker said that the barley varietal accreditation program was extremely valuable to the industry because it ensured that only those varieties which met the required standards set by MBIBTC were granted official malting variety status.
One of the primary conditions for accreditation was that any new variety recognised as a malt variety must be superior to the varieties they are intended to replace.
Australia's competitors operate similar accreditation systems for malting barley and it's important that standards are maintained so that our reputation for that supply of high quality malting barley destined for malting and beer brewing markets can be maintained.
Mr Barker said that under current marketing arrangements there was no reason why grain companies couldn't market specially segregated varieties to any customer for any purpose if a demand existed for those varieties irrespective of their malting accreditation status.
The main purpose of Barley Australia accreditation system is to ensure the supply of high quality, high value, accredited malting barley varieties to discriminating and quality conscious buyers which can compete with varieties supplied by our competitors.
Agriculture and Food Department research officer Blakely Paynter said that for hundreds of Hindmarsh growers in WA it would be a "waiting game" to find out what happened next.
"We just have to wait for the industry to respond in WA," he said.
"Grain Corp in the east has announced a segregated pool called Food but we can't really do anything but wait and see what WA marketing companies will do.
"The other thing to consider is we don't have the Hindmarsh production scale in WA like the east coast.
"I don't know the exact figure but they might have about half a million tonnes of it available for segregation."
Mr Paynter said there were still opportunities for growers with regard to Hindmarsh including non-malting markets and exceptionally priced and competitive feed options.
