Growers of a world-renowned specialist barley need a "fair return" for supplying an expanding malting industry, a leading north Norfolk farmer has warned.

Peter Perry-Warnes, a former chairman of Holt & District Farmers’ Club, said soaring costs could halt production of one of the most popular malting varieties, Maris Otter.

Prized by brewers as a key ingredient in award-winning beers around the word, the
high-quality variety is relatively low-yielding.

At a club meeting, he told Rebecca Gee, grain procurement director of the Crisp Malt group, that a price of £265 or £270 per tonne for a five tonne per hectare Maris Otter crop would not generate a return for growers. “It does not stack up,” he added.

Specialist growers could stop growing this variety, especially if they could plant alternatives, he said.

While higher-yielding malting varieties made between £175 and £180 per tonne, costs had soared.

Farmers have valued a continued, long-term partnership with a maltsters but they had to earn a sustainable return, he told Ms Gee, who joined the Great Ryburgh-based Crisp Malt 11 years ago and had succeeded Bob King on his retirement last year.

Earlier in the meeting, she praised Norfolk growers as a reliable and consistent supplier of quality malting barley, especially with the quality of this season’s spring barley.

While maltsters faced challenges including pressure on beer sales, there were many reasons for optimism with rising demand for Scotch whisky especially in India and Asia. The distilling sector was booming in Scotland although a shortage of casks was causing a headache.

Crisps were expanding production at the Portgordon maltings in Moray three-fold to a target 162,000 tonnes by 2027. In response to a question by Chris Borrett, of grain merchants Adams & Howling, she said this could represent a further opportunity for Norfolk growers, as it might be difficult to source this additional malting barley from Scotland.