Boortmalt has offered an initial fixed price of €167.50/t (excluding VAT) contract for green malting barley for brewing for 2018.

Haulage, seed price and the option for higher contracts are among the measures in the package announced by the IFA this week.

The measures include free haulage ex-yard (via lorry) for contracted grain from growers whose local branches were closed in recent years, as long as they meet conditions on buying plant protection products.

Boortmalt has committed to seed prices of €520/t (delivered) for all varieties. There will be potential for additional contract tonnage for all growers in 2018.

The IFA’s Richard Kennedy described the new deal as positive, saying: “It is critically important to get a price out ahead of the planting season so that growers can plan their cropping programme accordingly. Today’s fixed price offer is currently ahead of that offered for new-crop dried feeding barley for harvest 2018 collection.”