Preliminary quality of western Canadian barley 2021-2022

Part I. Barley production in 2021

Table 1.1 Total barley seeded area in Canada (million hectares)
Province 2019 2020 10-year average*Footnote 1 2021**Footnote 2
Manitoba 0.136 0.168 0.155 0.167
Saskatchewan 1.275 1.264 1.029 1.500
Alberta and British Columbia 1.467 1.512 1.409 1.590
Western Canada 2.878 2.944 2.598 3.257
Canada 2.996 3.060 2.733 3.357

Figure 1.1 Yearly comparison of total barley seeded area in western Canada

Graph:Total barley seeded area.Details below
  • Details
    Total barley seeded area (million hectares) from 2011 to 2021
    Province 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021**Footnote 2
    Manitoba 0.138 0.219 0.182 0.121 0.182 0.168 0.107 0.131 0.136 0.168 0.167
    Saskatchewan 0.88 1.06 1.02 0.81 0.95 1.00 0.94 1.09 1.28 1.26 1.50
    Alberta and British Columbia 1.44 1.55 1.50 1.32 1.44 1.41 1.17 1.28 1.47 1.51 1.59
    Western Canada 2.51 2.84 2.71 2.25 2.57 2.58 2.22 2.50 2.88 2.94 3.25
Table 1.2 Total barley production in Canada (million tonnes)
Province 2019 2020 10-year average*Footnote 1 2021**Footnote 2
Manitoba 0.529 0.686 0.528 0.480
Saskatchewan 4.449 4.385 3.202 2.635
Alberta and British Columbia 5.018 5.345 4.611 3.705
Western Canada 9.996 10.416 8.353 6.820
Canada 10.383 10.741 8.772 7.141

Figure 1.2 Yearly comparison of total barley production in western Canada

Graph:Total barley production.Details below
  • Details
    Total barley production (million tonnes) from 2011 to 2021
    Province 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021**Footnote 2
    Manitoba 0.26 0.62 0.71 0.36 0.60 0.59 0.44 0.50 0.53 0.68 0.48
    Saskatchewan 2.44 2.35 3.41 2.17 2.86 3.38 3.14 3.44 4.45 4.38 2.63
    Alberta and British Columbia 4.61 4.52 5.63 4.17 4.36 4.46 3.94 4.06 5.02 5.34 3.70
    Western Canada 7.43 7.49 9.75 6.70 7.82 8.42 7.52 8.00 10.00 10.41 6.82
Table 1.3 Average barley yield (bushels per acre)
Province 2019 2020 10-year average*Footnote 1 2021**Footnote 2
Manitoba 76.9 79.9 68.6 58.8
Saskatchewan 69.3 68.7 61.7 35.1
Alberta 72.4 74.0 69.8 49.6
Western Canada 71.1 71.8 66.6 43.2
Canada 70.8 71.1 66.1 43.8

Figure 1.3 Yearly comparison of average barley yield in western Canada

Chart:Yield (bushels/acre) from 2011 to 2021.Details below
  • Details
    Yield (bushels/acre) from 2011 to 2021
    Province 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021**Footnote 2
    Manitoba 44.4 54.6 75.5 58.2 68.8 72.0 80.4 75.3 76.9 79.9 58.8
    Saskatchewan 55.3 43.9 66.1 53.7 60.7 69.8 66.4 62.7 69.3 68.7 35.1
    Alberta 67.0 59.9 75.6 66.3 68.3 75.9 71.8 66.8 72.4 74.0 49.6

Part II. Preliminary quality assessment

Table 2.1 Quality parameters of malting barley varieties received through the Canadian Grain Commission's Harvest Sample Program. Data updated on September 30, 2021.
Variety Grade Location Number of samples
Protein content  % dbFootnote 3 Beta-glucan content  % db Test weight (kg/hL)Footnote 4 Plumpness % >6/64” sieve 1000 kernel weight (g)
Mean SDFootnote 5 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
AAC Connect No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  19 13.4 1.2 4.13 0.22 65.6 1.6 94.4 3.5 48.4 3.0
AAC Synergy No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  23 13.8 1.4 4.32 0.36 65.3 1.7 92.1 7.5 46.1 5.1
AC Metcalfe No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  8 14.8 1.1 4.46 0.5 65.8 1.9 95.0 2.1 46.5 3.2
CDC Copeland No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  22 13.8 1.9 3.84 0.40 64.6 1.1 94.7 4.4 45.8 3.2
Table 2.2 Quality parameters of general purpose barley varieties received through the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program before selection for any specific purposes. Data updated on September 30, 2021.
Variety Grade Location Number of samples
Protein content  % Test weight (kg/hL) Plumpness % >6/64” sieve 1000 kernel weight (g)
Mean SDFootnote 5 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
CDC Austenson No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  27 13.7 1.3 66.2 1.9 93.6 3.6 46.8 4.2
No. 2 Western Canada Western Canada  8 14.4 1.2 62.7 2.7 83.8 15.6 41.6 4.2
Conlon No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  8 15.3 1.7 65.5 1.8 89.7 8.9 44.7 5.0
Oreana No. 1 Western Canada Western Canada  4 13.6 1.6 68.8 2.3 89.9 6.2 50.2 5.1
Table 2.3 Quality of barley selected for malting in 2021. Data as of September 30, 2021.
Variety/province Number of samples Tonnage represented by samplesFootnote 6
Test weight (kg/hL) 1000 kernel weight (g) Plumpness % >6/64” sieve Hardness indexFootnote 7 Protein (%)Footnote 8 Germination energy 4mL (%) Germination energy 8mL (%) RVA (RVU)Footnote 9
Mean SDFootnote 5 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean Mean Mean Min-Max Footnote 10
AAC Connect
All Prairies 13 22,000 65.1 1.7 48.6 2.2 95.5 1.2 54 7 12.8 0.6 98 95 93 26-133
AAC Synergy
All Prairies 12 135,000 65.7 1.6 47.2 2.8 96.7 1.3 56 7 12.6 0.8 98 96 91 17-139
AC Metcalfe
All Prairies 3 14,000 67.0 1.3 44.4 1.9 95.9 2.1 64 1 13.7 0.9 99 97 85 14-145
CDC Copeland
All Prairies 13 70,000 64.7 1.3 45.8 2.6 96.8 1.6 51 7 12.6 1.0 99 96 114 45-151
CDC Fraser
All Prairies 13 10,500 65.0 0.5 46.2 1.8 96.9 1.3 62 3 12.9 0.7 99 96 104 93-116

Figure 2.1 Average protein content in barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021

Chart: Average protein in barley, 2011-2021.Details below

  • Details
    Average protein content in barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021
    Crop years 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 10-year average
    Protein, % 11.4 11.9 11.2 11.7 12.4 11.3 11.5 11.9 11.5 11.8 12.8 11.7

Figure 2.2 Average germination energy of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021

Chart:Average germination energy of barley, 2011-2021.Details below

  • Details
    Average germination energy of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021
    Crop years 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 10-year average
    Germination energy, 4 ml % 99 98 98 96 97 97 99 99 98 99 99 98

Figure 2.3 Average plumpness of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021

Chart:Average plumpness of barley, 2011-2021.Details below

  • Details
    Average plumpness of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021
    Crop years 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 10-year average
    Plumpness, over 6/64" sieve (%) g 93.2 88.4 93.1 93.3 94.5 93.1 93.6 95.6 92.7 92.4 96.3 93.0

Figure 2.4 Average 1000 kernel weight of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021

Chart:Average 1000 kernel weight of barley,2011-2021.Details below

  • Details
    Average 1000 kernel weight of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021
    Crop years 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 10-year average
    1000 kernel weight, g 44.2 41.5 47.7 44.2 45.7 46.5 44.9 46.7 45.1 45.5 46.9 45.2

Figure 2.5 Average test weight of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021

Chart:Average test weight of barley,2011-2021.Details below

  • Details
    Average test weight of barley selected for malting from 2011 to 2021
    Crop years 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 10-year average
    Test weight, (kg/hL) 67.7 64.9 68.2 65.0 66.6 66.5 68.1 69.5 66.3 67.2 65.3 67.0

Figure 2.6 RVA results for barley selected for malting in 2021 in comparison with previous years

Graph of RVA results in AB,SK and MB for malting barley,2018,2019 and 2020.Details below

The boxes in Figure 2.6 show the range of rapid visco analysis (RVA) values in the middle 50% of the analyzed samples. The horizontal line and the dot inside the box indicate the median and mean, respectively. The "x" outside of the box marks the minimum and maximum values.

Risk of germination loss in storage
Risk of germination loss in storage Rapid viscos analysis viscosity (rapid viscos units)
Low ≥120
Intermediate 50 to 120
High <50
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