Syngenta has seen two of its malting barley varieties promoted on the latest Malting Barley Committee (MBC) approved list for harvest 2025.
Kathryn Hamlen, seeds portfolio marketing manager, said: “The MBC approved list is a key source of information for malting barley growers. So we are delighted that our spring barley variety, SY Tennyson, has been promoted from Provisional approval 2 to Full approval for brewing use on the latest MBC list, announced in November.
“This latest promotion complements the existing Full approval of SY Tennyson for malt distilling use on the MBC list – underlining its potential as a dual-purpose variety.
“Similarly, we are delighted that our winter barley variety, SY Vessel, has been promoted to Special Use Full approval for malt distilling use on the new MBC list.
“This is significant because, while other winter varieties on the MBC list, such as the established options of Flagon, Craft and Electrum, have Full approval for brewing use, SY Vessel is the only winter barley variety on the list with Special Use Full approval for malt distilling use.
“Traditionally, the majority of barley used for malt distilling has been spring barley. Having a winter variety as another option helps growers and end users to manage risk.”
She adds that growers should check that their buyer wants a specific variety before growing, however, she believes that the approvals will give growers more confidence to include either variety in their rotations.
For more information go to www.syngenta.co.uk