From the farm to the table – and even your glass at the pub – barley is an important Canadian staple. While Alberta is the main hotspot for barley, farmers across Canada grow the crop, which the world uses to make some of its favourite drinks, including beer[1].
What is barley?
You’ve probably heard of it, but you may not realize quite how long barley’s history is or how diverse its uses are. Barley is an ancient grain that’s been used for thousands of years in North America for animal feed – the largest use – plus as malt to brew beer (more on that later). It can often be found in soups, cereals, snacks and protein bars and is known for its health benefits, including being rich in soluble fibre, which can play a role in lowering cholesterol.[2]
Today, barley remains an important crop for Canadians. In Canada, 23,000 farmers produce roughly eight million tonnes of barley every year, making it our country’s third largest crop, after wheat and canola.
How does malted barley help to make beer?
One of the ways barley is most useful is as malt. Food producers use it as flavouring, but most commonly, malt is a key ingredient in making beer and spirits such as vodka and whiskey. To make malt, barley is taken to a malt house where it is soaked in water, germinated and then dried before being sent to brewers or food processers.
Malt barley is no small business here in Canada, with domestic and international brewers alike counting on Canadian farmers’ malt barley. Overall, Canada is the fourth largest barley producer and second largest malt exporter in the world. And every year, Canadian farmers generate $1 billion from the export of feed barley and malt.
Canadian farmers sell 2.2. million tonnes of malt barley annually. In Canada alone, brewers use 250,000 tonnes of malt barley to make beer, with the sales from that beer generating $5.8 billion in provincial and federal taxes every year.[3]
The beer industry depends on farmers like the Sawyers, who are featured in our documentary series Real Farm Lives, for Canadian barley. Alberta farmers like the Sawyers actually produce about half of Canada’s annual barley crop.
Did You Know?
Each year, Canada exports over $250 million in beer – and it takes malted barley to make it happen.
Why is barley important to farmers?
Beer has long been a popular drink around the world and in recent years consumers’ taste for new craft beers has been growing. Each year, Canada exports over $250 million in beer – and it takes barley to make it happen.
Canadian malt from our barley goes all around the world. In fact, we export about 65 per cent of the malt we produce to about 20 different countries, including the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Mexico.[4]
As Alberta farmer Matt Sawyer puts it, “we take pride in knowing that this is a safe, sustainable product that we’re shipping all over the world”.
How do plant science and modern farming innovations help barley farming?
Like many other crops, barley – including the malt-grade barley like the Sawyers grow – benefits from modern farming innovations. For instance, if the Sawyers didn’t use pesticides to protect their barley from weeds, diseases and insects, they would only be able to produce about 25 per cent of what they do now. Precision agriculture is another modern technique that can help By using technologies – including GPS guidance, drones and sensors – we can improve the efficiency of farming. These technologies mean that farmers can ensure precise application of pesticides on the crop and avoids overlap in the field. Finally, many farmers, including the Sawyers, also rely on human expertise, working with agronomists to keep their crops healthy. Agronomists provide advice throughout the growing season to make sure farmers can get the most out of their crop in a sustainable manner.
[1] https://www.albertabarley.com/our-priorities/barley/
[2] https://gobarley.com/why-barley/
[3] http://cafta.org/export/barley/
[4] http://cafta.org/export/barley/