Insights from the 2024 U.S. and Canada Barley Crop

Insights from the 2024 U.S. Barley Crop

This presentation will dive into data from the USDA NASS Small Grains Summary, paired with how markets and weather impacted the crop harvested. It will also explore the landscape of variety development and improvement, and what maltsters can expect on the horizon. 

Insights from the 2024 Canada Barley Crop

The 2023 seeding, growing and harvest season was a rollercoaster for farmers and the western Canadian grain industry.  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s April 30th drought monitor report showed the entire Prairie growing region in moderate to extreme drought conditions, however in early May the prairies received wide spread rains with moisture continuing regularly through June.  With cautious optimism in the air, the taps turned off at the end of June and temperatures turned hot through most of the month of July, resulting in early seeded crops in particular taking the brunt of the impact with yield and quality losses evident by early August in some regions.  As a result, quality is highly variable in the 2024 malting barley crop in western Canada with some areas having low yields, high protein content, thin kernels and low test weights, while other areas harvested barley with very good yields and quality.