The harvest price for Boortmalt suppliers was settled this week. The price for malting barley is based on the average Free-On-Board Planet price.

An average of that price is calculated over a 24-week period from the middle of April to the middle of September.

The price has now finished at €284.75/t. However, this figure is subject to a €10/t deduction, as Boortmalt has placed a handling and logistics charge on suppliers.

This brings the final figure down to €274.75/t.

If a farmer has made distilling-grade, then this €10/t charge will not apply as farmers receive a €10/t bonus for distilling, so this bonus is effectively cancelled out.

Some farmers fixed percentages of up to 40% of their barley at prices of €320/t and €300/t before planting. All remaining grain will be paid the harvest price.

Rejection rates

However, the big thing to note here is that very little barley passed for malting this year in comparison to others.

Merchants taking in malting barley reported rejection rates from 50% to 85% to the Irish Farmers Journal. This means farmers are down significantly in income, as their barley was sold for animal feed.

The full list of average prices is outlined below.