Many barley crops are failing to make malting specifications. This had been expected, given the impact of June rainfall on regrowth and protein content. But grain skinning is also causing considerable rejection at intakes up and down the country.

High grain protein levels were a major concern leading into harvest. High-protein rejections were a significant problem in some Boortmalt areas early in the harvest and low-protein distilling barley was rare.

However, parts of the south are seeing some rejection because of low protein (down as low as 7%) in crops that are producing extremely high grain yields.

Out-of-spec protein and skinning are the major problems thus far

On balance, it seems likely that the acceptance rate is less than 75%, but perhaps higher than had been predicted. This ranges from over 90% acceptance in parts of the south to as low as 30% in other areas.

Out-of-spec protein and skinning are the major problems thus far.

There were occasional rejections due to high screenings from fields that were badly hit by drought. In addition, there are now additional concerns about fusarium and germination levels, as broken weather seems set to continue.