Popular spring malting barley garners support from leading maltster

Two years on since gaining full approval for malt distilling use by the Malting Barley Committee (MBC), high-yielding spring malting barley Firefoxx, bred by Elsoms-Ackermann Barley, has continued its upward trajectory with recent commercial interest from leading maltster, Muntons PLC.  

Muntons supply chain manager Mark Ineson, who has been with the company for 35 years, sees Firefoxx as an important step forward in helping to secure diversity of supply in a sector where varietal change tends to be slow moving.

Mark says” As a progressive, forward thinking business we continually assess new malting barleys coming through the system, and, in 2023, we trialled a small tonnage of Firefoxx grain into distilling malt to confirm that it performed equally as well as other varieties. On the back of that positive commercial trial, we have recently decided to upscale our interest in Firefoxx to 3,000 tons this year.

“As a newer variety it has a number of agronomic advantages, including the offer of a different genetic background, helping to ensure future supply security in the event of a potential resistance breakdown. Although on-farm reports confirm both its grain quality and consistently good yields, for us as a business, the critical factor is that it fully meets our customers specifications for supply, and Firefoxx does.

“All in all, Firefoxx should see its market share increase in the next 3-5 years with a realistic scenario that it eventually replaces older varieties such as Laureate and Sassy in our Scottish supply markets. It could also very well overtake Diablo as the second biggest variety we’re running with in northern England, providing it continues to perform well agronomically on-farm with growers and advisers retaining their current confidence levels” he concludes.

Stuart Rowley, managing director at James Mortimer Limited, takes a similar view and sees Firefoxx in a strong position for growth following Muntons decision to fully commit to the variety.

He adds” As a malting barley trader and a seed producing business covering the whole of Yorkshire, we’re in the unique position of being able to scan new top-performing varieties for our farmer customers and help them transition successfully. Spring malting barley is a very important crop, particularly in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and we’re excited about Firefoxx’s prospects over the next 2-3 years.

“The cycle of market change in malting barley tends to be much slower than in wheat or rape, so it’s important we support that change fully once the right variety comes along. Agronomically earlier to harvest and MBC approved, Firefoxx ticks all the right boxes with its different genetic make-up helping growers to mitigate risk. Equally important though is that the end home market wants it” he confirms.

Nicky Wilson, regional seed manager for Frontier Agriculture, covers the north, Northumberland and Scotland. Having successfully trialled Firefoxx in 2021, she has been assessing its performance against other spring malting barleys over the last 3 years and sees significant untapped market potential for a variety which has, admittedly, been a slow-burner for some growers.

She says” Although it seems a long time since it first appeared on the RL in 2020. In truth, the early adopters who went with Firefoxx have all remained loyal, and, now that major maltsters such as Muntons are fully on board, I can only see its popularity and area increasing in the short to medium term.

“When I compare Firefoxx’s performance to Laureate over the last 3-4 years, its agronomic package stands up incredibly well, and, if anything, I’d argue it has had the edge on both yield and consistency, with its earlier maturity and diversity away from the Concerto parentage line being major incentives for growers.

“With Muntons signalling their intent, and with the pressures of a comparatively short growing season in Scotland exacerbated by recent challenging weather for spring drilling, many of our grower customers have already confirmed their interest in growing a larger area of a variety that has excellent grain quality and is often a week earlier to harvest than both Laureate and Sassy” she adds.  

Farming 1,215 ha near Coupar Angus, north-east of Perth, of which spring malting barley annually accounts for 485ha, malting barley specialist John McLaren, of MJ and J McLaren, is well placed to assess Firefoxx’s credentials.

John says” Spring malting barley annually accounts for over a third of our total cropping area so it’s a very important crop for the business. We first began working with the variety in 2021, the year after it first appeared on the RL, and were initially very impressed when it consistently outyielded Laureate in 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

“On the evidence of those first 3 years, we substantially increased our area of Firefoxx to 365ha in 2024, making it our first choice spring barley. Despite a 3.5 week delay on drilling last spring due to terrible weather, Firefoxx still performed extremely well delivering average bushel weights of 65kg/hl, very low skinnings of 0.8% and over 7.5t/ha on yield.

On average, it has been 2-3 days earlier to harvest than Laureate each season allowing us to spread our harvest. It’s easier to combine, with the straw coming out drier from the combine, and the overall grain quality has been excellent. For 2025, we plan to drill 365ha of Firefoxx, all of which will be a commercial crop for Muntons with a small, additional area grown for seed” concludes John.