Malt barley has expanded on my farm. The CashPlus program that came out with the Wheat Board was a step in the right direction, though only partially. But they gave us a price up front, and that's what's most important to us. We cannot have uncertainty as far as what price we will get is concerned. We need to have a contract, a delivery date, and they'll deliver that and we'll get paid 100% of the price.
I know this year I've talked with three different maltsters. They all want to contract grain with me, but they cannot do it legally, so they have not found a way to do that. The uncertainty is huge.
Not only that, but prices have dropped in the last month. We could have signed up for higher contracts a month ago. Cash is coming directly out of our pockets already. So it's very important that we're able to contract directly with them for a price and do that as soon as possible.