Malting barley growers who lost their contracts last week are being called to a meeting this Wednesday 28 January.

Last week, it was announced that the entire contract for malting barley with Stradbally Town and Country had been cut by Boortmalt, leaving growers whose families have supplied malting barley to produce products such as Guinness for over 150 years without a contract.

Laois Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) grain chair Rory Doyle said: “We’re third generation malting barley growers on our farm and we got no word whatsoever that this was going to happen. It came out of the blue. We could have sown a lot more winter crops if we had have known.”

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Over 60% of suppliers to Stradbally Town and Country are reported to have a contract of less than 30ac, meaning a local branch is critical, as haulage by lorry to a location further away than the local branch is not practical and is costly.

'Bombshell'

Laois IFA chair Henry Burns said: “This is a bombshell for Laois. We hope to see as many growers as possible Wednesday night to make plans to ensure our contracts are there for the coming year.

“Malting barley is of huge importance in County Laois to add premiums to barley. On numerous occasions, Stradbally [branch] growers have won malting barley awards and now, all of a sudden, they don’t have the right to grow malting barley. Boortmalt need[s] to come to the table and make sure these growers have contracts for the coming year.

“Stradbally Town and Country, and before that as a branch for Minch Norton, has been an intake of malting barley for years and generations of farmers have supplied it. We want to see that continue.”

The news comes ahead of spring planting and leaves these growers without a premium-priced product, which is crucial for farm incomes, particularly in the current market of high inputs and falling grain prices.

The meeting, hosted by the IFA, takes place this Wednesday 28 January at 8pm in the Maldron Hotel, Portlaoise.