KEY POINTS:
Better barley breeds could be the salvation for the beer brewing industry as global warming threatens crop production, an industry conference has heard.
Industry scientists and brewers from more than 24 countries in Auckland for the Institute of Brewing and Distilling's convention heard yesterday that climate modelling pointed to an increased drying in barley growing areas in New Zealand and Australia.
Jim Salinger, principal scientist with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, told the conference that Canterbury, the main barley growing area in New Zealand, would likely be adversely affected as it gets hotter and drier.
"But new areas may well open out in Otago and Southland where there's sufficient rainfall," he said.
Lion Nathan currently sources around 70 per cent of its malting barley from Canterbury, while DB Breweries also uses local crops for most of its products. Some barley comes from Europe for Heineken, with small proportions from Australia and the UK for DB's specialty products.
Australia - dubbed the "drying continent" - was expected to be 1 to 1.5 degrees warmer by 2030, with less rainfall in the key barley growing areas of South Australia, Victoria, coastal New South Wales and southwest Australia. Between 20 and 130 millimetres less water was expected to be available by 2030 due to reduced rainfall and increased evaporation.
Warming would see large declines in barley cropping in Western and Southern Australia, Victoria and Canterbury by 2070, Salinger said.
"Certainly in Australia it's going to be a challenge because it's all around water, and water's used in a lot of the process."
Doug Stewart, technical manager of Joe White Maltings in Adelaide, said Australian barley typically needs between 325 and 600 millimetres of rainfall, but breeding with more drought-tolerant wild varieties overseas could provide one solution in a dryer environment.
Short season malting barley varieties were another potential solution, he said. While a shorter growing season can limit yield, it would ensure maximum grain quality and yield despite the harsh seasonal conditions.
Stewart said historically Australian barley production has dropped every seven years because of drought.
But over the last five years, Australia has experienced three droughts. In 2006, in what was dubbed the 100-year drought, barley production fell 70 per cent. Last year, drought caused a 40 per cent fall.
Stewart said another option to combat the pressure on water supplies was to improve water efficiency in the malthouse. The most dramatic way to do that was to develop barley varieties that only require one steep, rather than the current practice of two. This could reduce water use by around 40 per cent, he said.
Russell Peel, environmental consultant for Foster's Group in Australia, said although water usage in beer brewing has become more efficient over the years, it was going to be an increasing concern.
"Water is going to be such an issue of global concern that any water wastage is going to be seen as unacceptable," he told the conference.
