Boortmalt is set to announce an improved forward price offer for 2025 malting barley deliveries on Friday of this week (March 1 4).

This was the key outcome of a meeting for malting barley growers, hosted by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) in Co. Carlow on Monday, March 11.

The new pricing arrangement comes into effect at the beginning of April.

Leading Boortmalt executives, including company managing director for the UK and Ireland, Stuart Sands, addressed the Carlow meeting.

He confirmed that the new price offering will be “north of €230/t”, the figure put into the public domain by Boortmalt just over a month ago.

Courtesy of his presentation to the meeting, Sands made a number of key points.

He stressed the commitment of Boortmalt to help futureproof a sustainable malting barley sector in Ireland.

There was recognition on his part of the concern caused at farmer level by Boortmalt not communicating with growers last autumn, saying this scenario will not be repeated in 2025.

He added that the initial forward price offer for 2025 reflected the tremendous uncertainty that currently exists on international malt market materials at the present time.

There was universal opposition expressed by attending growers to the €230/t price offer from Boortmalt, with a price in the region of €300/t deemed to be a more realistic offer.

The entire membership of the IFA’s malting barley committee attended the Carlow event. They referenced the fast increasing cost scenario currently facing growers, chief among these being land rental charges, fertiliser, and machinery costs.

Other issues discussed at the meeting included the perception that grain merchants are not being consistent in the way that contract tonnages have been specified for individual growers in 2025.

It was reported that some growers had received 30% year-on-year increases in their contract tonnages, while others have had their contracted confirmations reduced significantly.

The timing of payments to growers in 2024 was also discussed, with a number of attending farmers confirming that they did not receive their cheques until November.

Previously they had received payment for barley in September.

There was a general discussion on the need for Boortmalt to bring forward improved malting barley varieties.

Kieran McEvoy, the chairman of the IFA’s national grain committee, took charge of the meeting.

He stressed that Bootmalt’s €230/t price offer must be improved. However, McEvoy also pointed to an improved working relationship between IFA and the malting operation.