Germany
January 19, 2015
Quelle: Braugersten-Gemeinschaft e.V.
Download: Final Harvest Report: Brewing Barley
Herewith the final crop report for German spring barley in 2014, assembled by the German Malting Barley Association. The report is based on data compiled by German state agricultural institutions and regional chambers of agricultural commerce.
In 2014, plantings of German spring barley covered 347,000 hectares of arable land. Overall, seeding started early, under near-optimal weather conditions. This made for a long growing season that gave the stocks plenty of opportunity to develop well. The water supply was adequate throughout most of the season, as was the supply of soil nutrients, except for a dry spell in the spring when water became scarce in weaker soils.
A generally dry and often hot July ensured that the stocks remained healthy and matured rapidly. However, in several regions, the harvest was interrupted several times by excessive amounts of rain. The effect was a reduction in quality, especially in lots that were harvested very late. Even simple visual inspections revealed the damage where it occurred, mostly in the form of burst kernels. Some plants also underwent hidden, premature vernalization on the stalk. Nonetheless, the average yield, which amounted to 59.5 MT/ha, adds up to a bumper crop of spring barley for German farmers. The average protein content, however, was comparatively low, at about 10.1%. The average plumpness rate, on the other hand, was a respectable 89.2%. Taken together, these factors made for a wide spectrum for users to choose from. Of the more than 2 million MT of spring barley that were harvested in 2014, some 1.4 million MT, or roughly 70%, were deemed to be of malting quality. However, this is merely a theoretical assessment based on currently available average quality data. Importantly, experts in the different German states report very heterogeneous harvest results with regard to germination rates. This highlights the importance of meticulous incoming inspections before processing any deliveries.
The main barley varieties cultivated in Germany in 2014 were Grace, Propino, and Quench. Experts expect the total acreage of German spring barley to remain unchanged in 2015, largely because spring barley plantings are forecast to increase next year and because there will continue to be economic incentives for planting barley compared to other crops.
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