Newsroom
2002
September 18, 2002
Deadline nears for 2002 malting barley entries
Farmers growing malting barley varieties on the 2002-03 Malting Barley Industry Group Recommended List are reminded that the deadline for entering the Barley Development Council’s 2002 Malting Barley Quality Competition (MBQC) is October 31, 2002.
Now in its seventh year, the competition is open to all malting barley farmers in Western Canada who have had their 2002 crop year barley selected for malting use by October 11, 2002. All eligible farmers will receive an entry form and instructions with their malting barley selection contract letter of confirmation from the Canadian Wheat Board.
“We realize that malting barley farmers in Western Canada have faced some extraordinarily difficult growing conditions this year that will adversely affect barley quality,” said President and CEO of the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI) and MBQC committee chair Dr. Erin Armstrong. “However, we encourage farmers to enter the competition as we will be judging all entries based on current conditions, not compared to an ideal standard. If your malting barley has been selected, it is eligible for entry in the competition.”
To enter the competition, a representative sample (about 1 pound or 4 cups) must be appropriately packaged and sent with an entry form to the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute’s Winnipeg office to be received by October 31.
Commercial malting barley selectors will judge the entries for two- or six-row malting barley submitted from each crop district. Winning district entries will then be judged to select provincial winners, and an overall grand champion. A sample of the grand champion’s barley will be sold by auction at the Canadian Western Agribition Grains and Forage banquet on November 25, 2002 in Regina.
District and provincial winners will be announced in November. District winners will each receive an expense-paid trip for two to Regina to attend a special program being held in conjunction with Agribition. All district winners’ samples will be displayed at the Barley Development Council’s exhibit booth at Agribition.
A record number of 287 entries were submitted in last year’s competition. “Despite the negative effects of this year’s weather, we hope that farmers will take the time to enter the competition and see how their barley rates,” said CWB agronomist Mike Grenier. Through gold level sponsorship of the MBQC, the CWB supports the competition’s goal of recognizing farmers who are successful in growing selectable barley.
"By acting as a gold level sponsor of the MBQC, the malting and brewing company members of the BMBRI want to stress to malting barley producers how important the quality of their barley is to the production of high quality malt and beer," Armstrong said.
Sponsors of the 2002 Malting Barley Quality Competition include: Gold - Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute and the Canadian Wheat Board: Bronze - Agricore United, BARI-Canada, Inc., Canada Malting Co. Ltd., Canadian Grain Commission, Cargill Ag Horizons, CN, Quality Assured Seeds Inc., Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, SeCan Association, South West Terminal Ltd., Specialized Malting & Roasting Co. Ltd., Toepfer International and Westcan Malting Ltd.; and Supporter - Gambrinus Malting Corp. and Parrish & Heimbecker Limited .
The Barley Development Council is an umbrella organization that includes representatives from all aspects of the barley and malting industry in Western Canada. Its goal is to promote development of the western Canadian barley industry.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Erin Armstrong
Chair, Malting Barley Quality Competition committee
Telephone: 204-927-1407
E-mail: info@bmbri.ca