Raise a glass, bottle or can to farmers on National Beer Lovers’ Day

Sep 07, 2017

Without farmers, there would be no beer

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

September 7 is recognized as National Beer Lovers’ Day and local establishments are quenching customers’ thirst for a cold beer.

The day is also a time to reflect on the importance of Canadian producers to the beer industry.

And it’s important for customers to know where their beer comes from.

“Anything we as farmers can do to increase our domestic usage for any Canadian product is only better for the country,” Fred Greig, chair of the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association and producer from Reston, Man., told Farms.com today. “If someone knows they’re enjoying a Canadian beer with Canadian ingredients, that can only be a good thing.”

Canadian farmers sell 2.2 million tonnes of malting barley each year, according to the Barley Council of Canada.

Local beer makers purchase about 250,000 tonnes of the crop and the barley sales contribute $5.8 billion to the Canadian economy.

Statistics Canada estimates Canadian growers will produce more than 331 million bushels of barley in 2017. Alberta is estimated to produce the most, at over 170 million bushels.

Another important ingredient in beer is wheat.

Canadian growers are estimated to produce more than 938 million bushels of wheat in 2017, Stats Canada says.

Saskatchewan growers are expected to produce more than 374 million bushels of wheat, the most of any province.

And choosing a wheat variety that’s useable for beer can be tricky process.

“Varieties are bred specifically for what the beer makers are looking for,” Greig said. “The other side of that is as producers, we require some agronomic packages that helps us profit from the varieties. If the variety is great for malting but doesn’t stand in the field, we can’t produce it.”

And local watering holes are thankful for producers, too.

Canadian beer consumption was 77.1 litres per capita in 2016, according to Beer Canada.

Without farmers, that number would be significantly lower.

“Farmers are one of the keys to our survival,” Orest Horechko, general manager of Fort Garry Brewing Company in Winnipeg, Man., told Farms.com today. “If there’s no wheat and no barley, chances are there’s no beer, either.”

Canadian farmers are also instrumental in producing wine, vodka and other alcoholic beverages.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.