Winter malting barley growers are opting for a newer variety, which promises higher yields and good disease resistance.

Joining the AHDB Recommended List in late 2022, Buccaneer from Elsoms is the highest yielding winter malting barley with average yields about 6% greater than its competitors.

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Ahead of the first season since it gained full approval for brewing, Farmers Weekly speaks to two growers who are now growing Buccaneer as their primary winter barley variety.

Richard Dungait, Northumberland

Richard farms just over 1,200ha of arable land in south Northumberland, over a broad array of soil types.

Dungait Farms has been growing Buccaneer for four years, but this is the first year that it was the sole variety grown.

“I was one of the first to try Buccaneer. It’s a step ahead in terms of yield, a nice clean variety and harvests well,” says Richard.

Previously, he grew the varieties Pearl and Craft, however, he was disappointed with their yields so kept pushing for a new variety.

Buccaneer is yielding at least 0.75t/ha more than Pearl and 0.25t/ha more than Craft.

Richard grew 190ha of Buccaneer barley this year, which had an average specific weight of 65kg/hl, and is sold to McCreath Simpson & Prentice for malting.

He has never experienced any excessive diseases with the variety. “It’s not a lot different to Craft, but has been cleaner than Pearl and Craft – especially with leaf diseases like net blotch and rhynchosporium,” says Richard.

However, he would recommend anyone considering growing the variety should implement a robust growth regulator programme to ensure optimum yields and reduce the risk of brackling.

At T0, Richard uses trinexapac-ethyl, a chlormequat base at the T1 timing, and then a variable amount of Cerone (ethephon) based on risk at the flag-leaf stage.

© Walter Dandie

Walter Dandie, West Lothian

Farming just over 1,200ha of arable land in West Lothian, Scotland, Walter started growing Buccaneer in 2024 following poor yields from other varieties.

He grows just over 200ha of winter barley, which is sold to McCreath Simpson & Prentice for seed.  

Previously, Walter was growing Craft for malting and seed purposes, however it wasn’t yielding compared to standard feed varieties such as Tardis.

“Last year nothing performed outstandingly, but we grew Buccaneer again this year and averaged 3.7t/acre, which is about 0.7t/acre better off than with Craft,” says Walter.

The Buccaneer has provided a slightly better quality than Craft with a specific weight of 71kg/ha – nothing drastic, but noticeable.

It has been treated with a standard three-spray programme, similar to other varieties.

Walter plans to grow Buccaneer again next season, with drilling set for 10 September. For those considering the variety, Walter says:

“There’s nothing that’s stood out that you need to watch for. It’s been quite simple to grow.”

Maltsters’ views

© Elsoms

Jonny Roberts, procurement and risk manager for the UK and Ireland for Boort Malt

The variety has two standout qualities – its high-yield potential and, from a malting perspective, its high specific weight.

“Craft has been an excellent variety over the years, but I think the sector now needs a higher yielding alternative like Buccaneer to readdress the big swing towards spring malting barley in recent years, along with a shift towards high-yielding feed barley.

He believes the arrival of Buccaneer could help bolster the winter malting barley area.

“By harvest 2027, I believe Buccaneer will overtake Craft on area grown. Certainly, as far as Boort Malt is concerned, we have already planned to increase our tonnage for next year.”

He says if those 2026 crops perform well in brew houses, he can see a significant larger uplift in tonnage for harvest 2027.

“Buccaneer is a variety that should feature greatly in our future footprint.”

Christopher Colley, barley trader at ADM Agriculture

“With a treated yield of 99%, its greater yield potential is the key benefit for the winter malting barley sector.

“When you look at the comparative yields, Buccaneer is 8% ahead of Craft on its untreated yield and 6% ahead on treated yield making it far more commercially viable for growers,” he says.

“Although there is currently a lower demand for winter malting barley compared with spring malting barley, there are still major businesses that we work with closely, such as Molson Coors, which see a major role for winter malting barley in their recipes.”