A SMALLER range of barley varieties will be available for malt segregations next harvest as farmers around WA continue to narrow down the number of different cultivars they grow.
Released by the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA), the malt barley variety receival recommendations for the 2023/24 harvest has Spartacus CL, Maximus CL and RGT Planet as the only three cultivars to have segregations widely available across the State.
With Bass and Flinders having fallen to below one per cent of WA's barley crop, the varieties remain on the list but only as a limited segregation in the Kwinana North and South zones for the former and a niche segregation in Albany South for the latter.
GIWA Barley Council chairman Lyndon Mickel said the future of Bass and Flinders would be limited beyond the 2023/24 harvest.
"There is strong demand in domestic markets as preferred varieties who primarily consume Bass and Flinders to meet the premium, additive-free malt markets in South East Asia and Japan," Mr Mickel said.
"While there is also still solid international demand for Bass and Flinders grain, grower production has declined, making it challenging to offer segregations and for it to be commercially viable to achieve exportable quantities."
Perth's Boortmalt and Barrett Burston malthouses are the biggest customers of WA malt barley grain, with the plants procuring more than 300,000 tonnes of malt barley grain annually from growers in the Kwinana and Albany port zones.
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Boortmalt plant manager Mitchell Beazer said their customer base was extremely diverse, spanning from Japan to Argentina.
"Each customer is very unique and demanding in its own way," Mr Beazer said.
"We have a whole group of customers who don't use additives at all and there are only certain varieties - mainly Bass, Flinders and Planet - that will not grow to the level of modification they want without additives.
"To take two of those out of the portfolio is basically cancelling out the availability to service a certain percentage of our customers."
With new malt varieties being released and adopted by growers faster than the phasing out of old ones, the rapid turnover of varieties is a common sticking point for end-users who desire long-term supply and familiarity to optimise their end-use.
Mr Mickel said new varieties also created in-efficiency for bulk handlers, with each further malt segregation adding to the storage and handling cost.
"The GIWA barley variety rationalisation plan attempts to balance the benefits to growers from access to new malt varieties with the demand from customers for access to large parcels of the same malt variety over at least five years," Mr Mickel said.
"Each malt barley variety grown in WA has unique malting attributes and consequently, brewers purchase varieties subject to their availability, familiarity, price, style of beer they produce, and the type and level of adjunct used in their brewing recipe."
The WA barley industry has supported the long-term aim of segregating up to two major malt varieties per port zone, with limited segregations on offer for minor, new or niche malt varieties.
Mr Beazer admitted at one point there were too many varieties and it was too expensive, so they were a big proponent of slimming that down.
However he believes it has now gone too far to the opposite end of the spectrum, which benefits the bulk handler but doesn't take the farmer or end-user into account.
"We understand segregating is expensive and streamlining the supply chain is necessary, but there is a balance which needs to be struck between end-users, farmers and handlers," he said.
"When we say three varieties, these segregations are for next harvest and by that point Maximus will likely have replaced Spartacus, so we're actually down to two varieties.
"If either one of those two varieties - Planet or Maximus - were to fall over due to disease or any other factor, we would be in a significant amount of trouble."
The rationalisation process outlines proposed segregation opportunities by port zone, market usage and demand by industry sector, as well as varietal-specific comments.
When it comes to market demand, varieties listed as preferred are more likely to attract higher premiums than acceptable varieties.
For export as malt, RGT Planet, Bass and Flinders are the preferred varieties, although the latter is on the decline, while Spartacus is acceptable and Maximus is still being assessed.
Spartacus is the only preferred variety for export as grain, with the other four all acceptable but both Bass and Flinders declining.
Lastly, for the Shochu market there is no demand for any of the varieties except Spartacus, which is acceptable.
Mr Mickel said growers should use the market signals to help them decide on which malt variety or varieties to sow in 2023.
"Market demand, pricing signals, and segregation locations should be considered in determining malt variety choice, along with the agronomic management required and the risk associated with delivering malt-grade barley," he said.
"Malt accreditation does not guarantee that international markets will be willing to pay a premium for the variety or that there will be demand from customers for their brewing recipes.
"It also does not imply the agronomic suitability of a variety for different growing environments in WA."
While Spartacus CL and RGT Planet still dominate the barley production area in WA, it is expected Maximus CL will soon replace the former onfarm
Ultimately, the market demand for Maximus CL will be dependent on how it processes from the 2022 cropping season and in the short-term, supply could exceed demand while evaluation occurs.
Over time, the premium for Maximus CL should match Spartacus CL as customers become familiar with the variety.
While GIWA facilitates publishing industry recommendations on what malt variety to grow, it has no control over the actual segregations provided by Bunge or CBH.
Some sites can only offer a single malt barley segregation, whereas others may offer two or more malt barley segregations.
As a result, growers should support harvest planning by submitting their area planted information and regularly liaise with their bulk handlers to confirm segregations.
