David Stanton
Ceist:36 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the mechanisms in place to carry out seed trials on malting barley; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9069/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 24 March 2004
Ceisteanna (36)
Freagraí scríofa
The malting barley industry, with the co-operation of the Department, is providing a service for malting barley producers in identifying new and better malting barley varieties.
The Department, from its ongoing nationwide trials on spring feeding barley, recommended list, national list and REPS trials, carried out by the Department's crop variety testing division, provides yield and agronomic data to the malting barley industry on varieties requested by them.
The samples of grain from varieties identified by the malting industry as having malting potential are taken in by the Department at its Moorepark facility and treated to produce agronomic data, that is, dried down to 12% moisture, dormancy is broken, and samples are monitored to achieve a minimum 96% germination figure. The dried samples are then sent to the malsters for micro-malting analysis. Using the agronomic and micro-malt data, the malting barley industry then decides what varieties are suitable for recommendation to the malting barley growers for production under Irish conditions.