By ROBERT GIBSON

Last updated 09:24, Friday, 22 August 2008

THE NFU is stepping up efforts to meet with various parts of the supply chain over potential quality issues connected to continued wet weather this summer.

As rain continues to fall, the main concern is with loss of quality in the region's crop of milling wheat and malting barley.

As a result, said Ian Backhouse, chairman of the NFU’s national and regional combinable crops boards, every opportunity is being taken to assess the developing situation on a week-by-week basis.

Links with the HGCA (Home Grown Cereals Authority), which operates the national Crop Monitor, are providing up-to-the-minute information on the risks of mycotoxins in the crop.

Further talks with millers and maltsters are also helping provide an accurate picture of how quality is being affected by the weather.

“This ongoing analysis of how the harvest is progressing enables us to pick up on problems as soon as they appear,” said Mr Backhouse.

“For example, if the harvest of spring barley proves to be badly affected, maltsters will have to look to crops of winter barley to fill the shortfall – this in turn would impact on the volume available for animal feed.

“While there is nothing we can do to change the weather, by ensuring that every element of the supply chain is kept up to date on problems as they develop, we stand a better chance of minimising the impact on farmers.

“The Crop Monitor, which is now in its second year, is a good example of how closer working can benefit the industry.

“By getting arable farmers to complete the risk assessment on the HGCA website, it identifies the grain most likely to exceed legal limits instead of all loads being tested in advance.

“This is a practical approach that tackles the problem but avoids very costly compulsory testing for all farmers.”

Mr Backhouse said that reports coming in from different parts of the country last week painted an increasingly concerning picture.

“Given that situation, it’s vital we do everything we can to manage the impact across the supply chain,” he added.

For more information, see the NFU website (www.nfuonline.com) or the HGCA website (www.hgca.com).