Maris Otter Bulletin – March 2021
As we emerge from the winter, the weather is certainly improving and the majority of crops look well established having come through the winter months well. There is not a huge amount to keep you abreast of but we will cover the pertinent points below:
Nitrogen Application
All nitrogen needs to be applied to your crop in the next 10 days if possible and subject to when you were able to complete the first application. Please ensure that you have also applied sufficient sulphur along with your nitrogen applications. Temperatures in March have certainly held things back and soils are taking some time to warm up, hence slowish growth up to now. However warmer temperatures are hopefully not far away and crops will respond very well, no doubt some temporarily turning yellow along the way as they search to pick up nutrients. There looks to be a bit of rain in the forecast and just after next week end, so applications before then will be even more timely. If we can have some sort of normal growing season, avoiding the spring/summer drought witnessed recently, then these crops should perform well and, at present, values are up above minimum prices ensuring good returns. Fingers are firmly crossed for the next 3 months.
Tank Mixes
Please ensure all products to be used on your Maris Otter crops are on the BBPA approved chemical list. Copies of which can be found on the following websites www.ukmalt.com , www.beerandpub.com or www.robin-appel.com . Please also exercise utmost care when spraying your Maris Otter crops and reduce the amount of products in each tank mix. Every year we see damage done to crops when they are sprayed with ‘exotic’ mixes and it takes some time for them to recover. Therefore, we thoroughly recommend spraying crops in benign conditions and with fewer products in one pass.
2022
We are starting to get an idea of strong demand for Maris Otter from the 2022 harvest and would welcome the chance to talk to you re cropping. The crop ticks the lower carbon box which many brewers are looking for and can also fulfil this role on the farm. Premiums and the Min-Max system will be structured to offer a competitive package as always.
Markets
The emergence from lockdowns around the world are the key to unlocking demand and getting the global brewing industry back to some sort of normality. There is certainly pent-up demand; I think we all long for the day where we can relax in good company drinking good beer, never again will we take it for granted. The craft brewing sector, where canning and bottling facilities are not always an option, have been hit hard and the breweries are desperate for hospitality to reopen. The weather in April and May will be key but there is definitely an upturn in demand by brewers already as they look to re stock. If things go to plan it bodes well for the remainder of the year and with many people trading up and looking for higher quality beers then demand for Maris Otter malt should remain strong.
As always if you have any questions please do contact your usual RA Ltd contact or e-mail enquiries@robin-appel.com
Very best of luck with the growing season, please take extra care of your crop as we really do need a good harvest and the prospects for Maris Otter look bright going forward.
