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Nov 22, 2024
FINAL BARLEY HARVEST REPORT
This report may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part without permission of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre.
By early October, farmers in western Canada had essentially wrapped up the barley harvest, with only a few small pockets remaining in parts of northern Alberta and eastern Saskatchewan.
In most regions, the season started favourably as farmers seeded crops early, particularly in the western Prairies, where dry conditions allowed them to get into their fields without difficulty. Good rains in May and June ensured the growing season got off to a good start, and farmers rated crop conditions quite high throughout the spring and early summer.
The map shows the percentage of average precipitation from April 30 to July 1. Good rains throughout the early growing season generated optimism, although in some areas the rains delayed seeding, and some farmers were still planting crops in early June. In July, as much of western Canada moved into a hot and dry weather pattern, crop prospects shifted. Yield forecasts dropped from early expectations, and quality was negatively impacted in some regions.
In July, dry and exceptionally hot conditions in many areas of western Canada transformed crop prospects. Expectations for bumper yields shifted to more moderate—and in some cases poor—prospects for yield and quality, as average precipitation from July 1 to August 31 fell well below average. Mid-August precipitation caused headaches for farmers in some central prairie areas, resulting in pre-harvest sprouting. However, the overall damage was relatively limited. Farmers harvested the bulk of the barley in western Canada between mid-August and mid-September under relatively dry conditions.
Ultimately, the dry, hot conditions in July posed the major challenge for this year’s barley crop, which affected crops in southwestern Saskatchewan, as well as southern and central Alberta in particular. Barley from these regions tended to have thinner kernels with high protein content.
Overall, there has also been a great deal of variability in 2024 harvest results, both across and within regions, and even at the individual farm level. In addition to local weather conditions, some reasons for the variability included timing of planting, which crops preceded barley the year prior, and other specific factors such as whether manure was applied to a specific field.
On September 6th, Statistics Canada updated its estimate for Canadian barley production to 7.6 mln tonnes, slightly above their initial figure for the season. Yield is projected at 61.0 bu/acre, the second lowest in a decade. The figure was derived using a model-based approach incorporating data to the end of August. Some private estimates suggest the crop may be larger than the latest Statistics Canada figure, potentially 8.0-8.5 mln tonnes. The next production estimate from Statistics Canada, based on farmer surveys, will be released in early December.
Canada Barley Production 2020-2024
Source: Statistics Canada, Sept. 6, 2024 The most recent Statistics Canada estimate for barley production is 7.60 mln tonnes, up slightly from their initial projection. Some private estimates suggest the crop may be larger, although production will end up on the lower end of the past 10 years. ALBERTA
In its final 2024 crop report on October 22, Alberta Agriculture estimated the barley harvest 99.4% complete as of October 22nd, ahead of average. The report indicated overall crop quality to be below normal, with 26 percent estimated to be grading malt, compared to 32 percent as a 5-year average, and 45 percent at 1CW, down from an average of 55 percent.
Estimate of Crop Harvest as of October 22, 2024
Source: Alberta Agriculture, Weekly Crop Report, September 24th, 2024. The last yield estimate from the provincial government was 57.2 bu/acre, down from 61.4 bu/acre in 2023, with central Alberta having the lowest average yields of 52.6 bu/acre (70.2 bu/acre in 2023). Statistics Canada estimates Alberta’s average barley yields of 60.4 bu/acre for the province.
Alberta Dryland Yield Estimates as of October 22, 2024
Source: Alberta Agriculture, Weekly Crop Report, September 24th, 2024. Alberta Agriculture’s barley estimate from the October 22nd update was 57.2 bu/acre, below the Statistics Canada projection of 60.4 bu/acre. According to Statistics Canada, Alberta farmers seeded 9% fewer acres of barley in 2024. With a projected drop in yields, production is set to drop 15% to 4.026 mln tonnes, well below the previous 5-year average of 4.8 mln tonnes.
Alberta Barley Production 2020-2024
Source: Statistics Canada, Sept. 6, 2024 SASKATCHEWAN
By October 21, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture reported that crops were 100% in the bin. Farmers in the southwest and southeast regions began harvesting in early August. The early start allowed producers to get the crop off in good time and complete other fieldwork before freeze-up. Producers were looking for more rain this fall and a lot of snow over winter to improve moisture conditions for next spring.
Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture, Weekly Crop Report, September 30th, 2024.
Rainfall varied across Saskatchewan during the season, with the northeast half of the province generally seeing more precipitation than the southwest half, although there were differences within local regions as well.Overall, most crops in Saskatchewan yielded above the 10-year average, but regional yields varied based on the rainfall received during critical parts of the growing season. Only durum, oats, canola, and mustard yielded lower than the 10-year average.
The final yield estimate from the Ministry for barley was 63.4 bu/acre (10-year average 59.6). Statistics Canada is showing a yield of 61.0 bu/acre for the province in their last update. The government estimated the quality for the province’s barley crop at 26% malt, 53% 1CW and 21% 2CW/sample. This is below the 10-year average for malt (30%).
According to Statistics Canada, Saskatchewan farmers seeded 17% fewer acres of barley in 2024. With a projected increase in yields compared with 2023, production is set to drop just 12% to 2.83 mln tonnes, but still well below the previous 5-year average of 3.6 mln tonnes.
Saskatchewan Barley Production 2020-2024
Source: Statistics Canada, Sept. 6, 2024 MANITOBA
By the end of September, Manitoba farmers had largely completed the barley harvest, a little ahead of average. Manitoba Agriculture estimated barley yields between 80 and 120 bu/acre, well above Statistics Canada’s estimate of 70.1 bu/acre for the province. Heavy rain slowed some of the late-harvested grains and impacted the quality of barley still in the field, although this affected only a relatively small portion of the provincial crop. Overall, malting barley quality is reported to be good, although higher levels of fusarium have been noted this year compared with the recent past.
According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba farmers seeded 25% fewer acres of barley in 2024. With a projected drop in yields, production is estimated at 440,000 tonnes, down 34% from 665,000 tonnes last year and well below the previous 5-year average of 595,000 tonnes.
Manitoba Barley Production 2020-2024
Source: Statistics Canada, Sept. 6, 2024 QUALITY UPDATE
Dry, hot conditions in July in many parts of the prairies have led to mixed quality in the 2024 malting barley crop. The extreme July weather—depending on the timing of seeding and sub-soil moisture—reduced yields, produced thinner barley, and increased protein content in the impacted regions, particularly in the western Prairies, including southwest Saskatchewan as well as south and central Alberta. These effects were evident in the early harvested barley. In contrast, the eastern and northern regions of the prairies were not as badly impacted; they achieved high yields and good quality, improving the overall average quality of Canadian 2024 malting barley supplies.
The 2024 Canadian malting barley crop can be characterized as follows:
- Higher than average protein content
- Lower than average plump kernels
- Lower than average test weight and 1,000 kernel weight
- Very good germination energy
- Limited presence of DON
Protein Content
According to the CGC Grain Research Laboratory’s (GRL) Harvest Sample Program, the 2024 barley harvest achieved an average protein content of 13.2%—the highest over the past 10 years except for 2021—and well above the 10-year average of 12.3%. For barley selected for malting, GRL data indicated an average protein of 12.3%, up from 12.1% last year and similar to 2022, though still above the 10-year average of 11.9%.
Source: CGC Quality of Western Canadian Barley 2024 Analyzing protein content by variety, the CMBTC’s results from selected barley samples indicate that CDC Copeland has higher protein content, likely impacted more than newer varieties by the dry, hot weather. In contrast, CDC Fraser shows the lowest protein content.
Protein Content of Major Malting Varieties – 2024 Crop
Source: CMBTC Crop Collect program Physical Characteristics The growing season’s weather also impacted the plumpness of the 2024 malting barley crop, leading to below-average results. Varieties like Copeland, and to a lesser extent Churchill, experienced the greatest impact.
Plumpness of Major Malting Varieties – 2024 Crop
Source: CMBTC Crop Collect program According to the GRL’s Quality of Western Canadian Barley report, test weight and thousand kernel weight were also significantly impacted recording the lowest levels in 10 years. It is of note that the early harvested samples may be more heavily weighted in these results which were published on October 15th, as later harvested varieties showed more average test weight and 1,000 kernel weight which may lead to revisions in the final report.
2024 Test Weight and 1,000 Kernel Weight of Barley Selected for Malting
Source: CGC Quality of Western Canadian Barley 2024
Germination Energy, Water Sensitivity and RVA
Overall germination of the 2024 crop is very good, and while there is some water sensitivity, RVA values are still relatively strong.
Germination Energy and Water Sensitivity – 2024 Crop
Source: CMBTC Crop Collect program According to the GRL’s Quality of Western Canadian Barley report, RVA values this year were better in Saskatchewan and Manitoba than 2023, while comparable in Alberta. With values generally above 75 RVU, the data suggests that while there was some pre-harvest sprouting in the 2024 malting barley crop, it was not significant or widespread.
RVA Values by Province – 2022-2024
Looking at individual varieties, 2024 data from the CMBTC’s Crop Collect Program indicate relatively strong average RVA values across all varieties, although not surprisingly, CDC Fraser, a high-enzyme variety, reported some samples with low RVA values in 2024 and had overall lower RVU results.
RVA Values by Major Malting Variety – 2024 Crop*
Source: CMBTC Crop Collect program *Data significantly different from the data set are considered outliers and are plotted as individual points.