A large north Norfolk estate is set to provide half the malting barley needs for family-controlled Suffolk brewer Adnams in a move to bring growers closer to end-users.

In a season likely to be flush with spring malting barley, the Holkham Estate is signing up to a three-year contract in tune with its long-term sustainable farming mantra.

The contract calls for an annual need of around 1,250t of high-quality malting barley of under 1.65% nitrogen grain content to produce Adnams’ beers and spirits at its Southwold base.

The estate’s light coastal soils grow around 250ha of spring barley and yields this summer were around 6.0-6.8t/ha and of a quality to meet the brewer’s demands.

The estate home of the Norfolk four-course wheat-turnips-barley-grass rotation has extended this historic farming practice into a six-course rotation, which includes spring malting barley.

“We grow a consistent area of spring barley and don’t jump in and out of the market, so we can plan long term and so can Adnams,” says Poul Hovesen, director of farming at Holkham.

The contract stipulates the spring barley variety Concerto, but there is flexibility to change to other varieties if agreed with Adnams and will start to try out the variety Propino next season.

The price is covered by a confidential agreement, but is set at the premium over feed barley and both Holkham and Adnams say they are pleased with the deal.

Adnams’ head brewer Fergus Fitzgerald is looking for consistent quality from the malting barley he uses at the Southwold brewery.

Britain’s largest maltster Boormalt first approached Adnams with the view to secure supplies for the Southwold-based brewer if growers switch back to winter wheat this autumn.

“The 2013 crop is proving to be a good year for barley supply but for the 2014 harvest many farmers are likely to swing back to wheat production,” says Sarah Brown, the group’s commercial manager for England.

“Working with growers is important in securing quality malting barley to the right specification for the longer term,” she adds.

With demand from the Scottish distillers steadily increasing and so sucking some English malting barley northwards, the need to secure supplies is even more important.

Poor autumn weather caused a near-20% fall in the national winter wheat area, and most of this undrilled land went into spring barley boosting supplies and blunting prices.

The maltster agreed with local grain merchant Dewing Grain to set up a contract to supply Boormalt’s Bury St Edmunds maltings and then the malt is delivered to Adnams.

Deliveries from the Norfolk estate will start in January 2014 as the three-year contract runs for the calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Security of supply is also important for Adnams’ head brewer Fergus Fitzgerald after food safety scares and so reduce reliance on growers that come in and out of the market depending on price.

“We are looking for farmers who are growing barley for the long term and so will give us secure supplies,” he says.

The group, which brews around 90,000 barrels of beer a year, has eight other local growers who provide another 40% of its annual needs through the maltster Simpsons.

Mr Fitzgerald is keen on long-term supply agreements as the big swing into spring barley this season has depressed prices and some farmers are unlikely to grow barley next spring.

“We are look for consistency so we do not want to chop and change varieties,” he adds.

Holkham, which manages directly 2,200ha of in-house farms, has moved to a six-course rotation of oilseed rape, winter wheat, sugar beet, spring barley, potatoes and winter barley, and so is a committed grower of spring malting barley.

Mr Hovesen says the rotation ensures the estate’s soils are in good conditions to grow sustainable and quality crops, and its light soils are particularly suitable to growing malting barley.

The says the next time he sees the barley will be in a pint of Adnams beer or a Adnams Copper House Spirit.

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