Mix-up over admixtures…
Mix-up over admixtures…
ATTEMPTS by some traders to count skinned barley grains as admixture, to wriggle out of uneconomic contracts, are unjustified.
According to industry consultant Peter Brown, most maltsters are now accepting deliveries of barley where the level of damage to the skin over the germ area does not exceed 8%. "Some are not asking for price adjustments, while others are seeking fairly modest allowances of, say, £5/t from above 5% skin damage," he says.
"This puts in a thoroughly bad light those few merchants and storekeepers who have attempted to use skinned grains as a reason for rejection, claiming such grains should be counted as admixture."
While many maltsters contracts contain a provision to minimise the amount of skinned grains, the standard UKASTA grains contract does not.
"Skinned grains are not contractually includable in the admixture count and rejection on that basis is not acceptable," says Mr Brown. "It should be resisted by growers faced with such action, particularly on high priced contracts where the merchant may be losing money."
The NFU is currently assisting a number of producers who have had this problem.n