New regen malting barley premium available to UK growers
© Tim Scrivener A new premium for regenerative British barley has been launched by Heineken UK as part of its sustainable regenerative malting barley programme.
Farmers will receive a payment for adopting regenerative agricultural practices, with a direct premium.
By 2027, almost half of the malted barley sourced by Heineken UK will be grown through regenerative agriculture practices, marking a major step in the company’s move to make regenerative farming part of mainstream beer production.
See also: How high-protein spring barley can unlock bigger premium
The aim is to support UK farmers and accelerate the adoption of regenerative farming practices such as:
- Cover cropping
- Reduced tillage
- Organic fertiliser use
- Nitrification inhibitors
- Straw chopping
- Greater crop rotation diversity
- Reduced fuel use
Practices will be bespoke to each farmer based on the regenerative methods they already have in place and what best suits their land, explains corporate affairs director of Heineken UK Sonia Thimmiah.
The programme will focus on barley-growing regions across much of England and Scotland, including East Anglia, East Midlands, the South East and the South West, Fife and the Scottish Borders.
© Tim Scrivener
The initiative not only aims to bring financial incentives, but agronomic support and multi-year certainty.
“By combining multi-year commitments with practical on-farm support, the programme is designed to make the transition commercially viable for growers, not just environmentally beneficial,” says Sonia.
1.3bn pints
Heineken UK is the UK’s largest beer, cider and pub company, brewing more than 1.3bn pints of beer every year and supplying 80% of UK pubs.
More than 95% of the beer sold by the company is brewed on home soil, underlining the importance of developing more sustainable farming practices for UK-grown ingredients.
The shift to using regenerative malting barley will extend across the firm’s portfolio, which also include, Cruzcampo, Birra Moretti, John Smith’s, Foster’s and Amstel.
The first crops are being harvested in 2026, to be brewed and served to consumers in 2027.
Measuring the impact
The programme is running in partnership with maltsters Muntons and Boortmalt, barley merchants Cefetra, and independent agronomists Soil Capital.
The initiative is part of Heineken’s global strategy to assess how best to scale regenerative agricultural practices.
Underpinned by Soil Capital’s independent measurement and farm-level data capture, more than 30 indicators, including soil health, increased biodiversity and water management will be tracked over time.
Nathalie Bouche, chief revenue officer at Soil Capital says: “For regenerative agriculture to scale, it needs to be measured credibly. Our role is to support farmers to adopt practices that work for their land, while providing evidence to track real progress over time.”
