Researchers discuss how to overcome the challenges of barley production in Brazil

Brazilian barley crops have high yields, comparable to large cereal producing countries. The problem lies in the stability of the supply of quality grains to supply the malting industry installed in the country. This was the aim of the 33rd National Barley Research Meeting, held on 2 and 3/08, in Passo Fundo, RS.

The harvest assessment panel included the results of barley in Brazil in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. In general, the average productivity of crops was above 3,6 tons per hectare (Conab data). However, according to analyzes by Ambev, the percentage of barley grains used by the malting industry in Rio Grande do Sul was 50% in 2019, fell to 41% in 2020 and reached 72% in 2021.

The quality of brewing barley varied depending on the climate, mainly drought when the crop was established or excess moisture during flowering and harvest. “Just looking at 2021, in a year with favorable weather we lost 30% of production due to lack of quality. It is not an acceptable margin. Not everything is the climate's fault, we need to improve stages of the system, from the implementation of crops, through management and receipt at the industry”, laments researcher Mauri Botini, from Ambev.

The brewing industry needs barley grains that have a minimum content of 9,5% and a maximum of 12% of crude protein, in addition to a 95% germination rate, attributes that allow the production of malt with a quality that meets the needs of the market. Larger grains and free from mycotoxin contamination are also desirable.

Due to the level of demand regarding the physical and chemical attributes of barley grains for brewing purposes, many producers in RS are switching from barley to wheat. The barley area, which reached 90 thousand hectares (ha) in 2015, fell to 38 thousand ha in the last harvest. Currently, among winter crops on Rio Grande do Sul soil, barley represents only 2% of the area, while wheat covers 74% and oats 21%.

“The reduction in area was a company strategy in search of stability and better efficiency in barley cultivation in the region”, says Botini, highlighting that barley requires a superior technological package than wheat, in a production system that is being improved with the partner producers. He assesses that, with the advancement of new cultivars, the area should grow again, especially in the northern half of Rio Grande do Sul where yields are higher.

In contrast to RS, in the state of Paraná the cultivation area has been growing in the last five years and reached 73 thousand ha in 2021, an increase directly related to the work to promote barley. Among the 214 cooperative families of the Agricultural Cooperative, growth has been above 10% per year. “The barley area has advanced over wheat, mainly due to the advantage of leaving the field earlier and allowing early soybean sowing”, explains FAPA/Agrária researcher, Noemir Antoniazzi, remembering that promoting barley cultivation is also strategic for the cooperative, which has a malthouse in the south of PR and is part of the group of five cooperatives that will install a second malthouse in Campos Gerais do PR in 2023.

“We found that it is easier to buy wheat on the market to supply the mill than to obtain quality barley for malting”, he concludes. To guarantee the supply of barley, since among Agrária's cooperative members the growth of the area has reached its limit, the development team sought out non-cooperative producers and expects a 23% growth in contracted area this harvest. “We have difficulty identifying producers with the technical capacity to produce barley. Many producers still do not master particularities in fertilization and disease management, for example”, assesses the person responsible for promotion Marcelo Marochio.

animal feed

Historically, barley grains that do not meet the standard for malting are destined for animal feed with a value equivalent to that of corn, with a gap that reached 50% in the past. However, with the rise in grain prices in general and the heated animal feed market, many producers tend to invest less in barley farming, especially with low fertilization, leaving the grains with lower PH, focusing only on yield volume and not in protein and germination, that is, aiming to harvest grains outside brewing standards but suitable for the feed industry. “All brewing barley can be forage, but not all barley can be used for malting given the minimum quality requirements”, explains Caio Batista, Agro regional manager at Ambev. According to him, in the world, of the 145 million barley produced annually, only between 10 and 15% is used for brewing purposes.

With an eye on this feed market (a term used to indicate the allocation of production to animal feed), Argentina is replacing wheat – which, in addition to market challenges, has several government barriers to exports – with barley. Today, there are around 1 million hectares of barley in the neighboring country that can potentially be used for brewing, and this area is expected to continue growing. “In recent years, the destination of a large part of the Argentine barley harvest was the East and Asia, intended for use in animal feed. As the relationship between supply and demand for barley in the international market has always been tight, any change can cause instability in the market dynamics”, explains Caio.

For researcher Aloísio Vilarinho, from Embrapa Trigo, the market for barley in animal feed is just beginning in Brazil, but should consolidate quickly: “The scarcity of corn in the face of the growing production of animal protein opens up the opportunity for the use of cereals from winter in animal feed. The Southern Region has the area and knowledge to supply this market and barley has proven to be an excellent alternative for feeding cattle, pigs and poultry”, says the researcher, highlighting that, in a short time, the value paid for brewing barley grains should be equivalent to forage barley.

The 33rd National Barley Research Meeting brought together more than 120 researchers in the Embrapa Trigo auditorium, in Passo Fundo, RS, on the 2nd and 3rd of August. It was carried out by Ambev, in partnership with FAPA/Agrária and Embrapa. At the end of the Meeting, participants paid a visit to the facilities of Maltaria Passo Fundo, managed by Ambev.

The main result of the event is the update of the publication "Technical indications for the production of brewing barley in the 2023 and 2024 harvests", which should be available by the end of this year. Among the main changes planned is the inclusion of two new cultivars developed by the Ambev research team: ABI Rubi and ABI Valente. The next edition of the Research Meeting is scheduled for April 2024, held by FAPA/Agrária.