Barley breeder Mark Glew is newly appointed to the role of senior barley breeder at Nickerson, in the firm footsteps of Rodney Habgood who will retire at the end of the year.

This appointment may seem a daunting task as Rodney is responsible for a long list of successful varieties with perhaps Pearl as the most memorable - still with around 20% of the market.

But Mark is not fazed as he has worked alongside Rodney for some 20 years as the breeding programme continues on its successful path with the up-and-coming varieties Cassata and Westminster as just two examples.

“To most, the almost unprecedented price hike in barley - and of course other commodities - during the last year are top of the agenda.  But, being a plant breeder, I need to have a long-term view.  And it is the effect of the changing climate on the agronomy of the crop that is my challenge,” said Mark.

“The likely scenarios are often discussed and already with us - warmer winters, uneven rainfall, wet springs followed by drought then wet summers, and so on.  In short, the unusual will become the usual.  The challenge that our barley breeding team face is to produce varieties that can thrive in these climatic conditions and still produce the yields and quality that growers require and end users demand.”

Mr Glew pointed out that barley is not competitive as a starch crop and the malting market has to be the most secure outlet for the crop in the future.  This is good news, as a strong and growing demand for malt is something that is in the scenarios of all the agri-future pundits.

He predicts that the winter/spring ratio will swing back towards winter barley and take us back to the days of the 1960’s.  The core reason is that spring barley will be more susceptible to extremes of weather as it has a shorter growing season and less time for good establishment. 

“So winter barley will offer a more stable source of supply as the climate changes.  But - and this is a big part of the breeder’s challenge – the winter varieties of the future will need to be more consistent, with a high certainty that the end crop will get a realistic premium,” he added.

“Also a more variable and probably wetter-in-the-spring climate means that we are likely to lose more spring spray days so, as well as making disease resistance more important, that pushes the advantage to winter barley.”

However, there will still be a place for spring barley as the characteristics required by the distilling industry can only be met by spring varieties.

In his very positive view of the changing future as he takes up the reins at the Nickerson barley breeding programme, Mark Glew did sound one warning note: “Mycotoxins will present a challenge to us. And it is a pincer effect as climatic changes will increase the incidence while, at the same time, food regulators will impose lower and more stringent limits.”

Article as seen in Farm Business