{"id":49292,"date":"2025-01-26T19:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T19:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/agriculture\/what-is-shot-and-sprung-grain\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T19:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T19:57:12","slug":"what-is-shot-and-sprung-grain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=49292","title":{"rendered":"What is \u2018shot and sprung\u2019 grain?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"


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You might have heard about \u2018shot and sprung\u2019 grain in the news lately \u2013 farmers in parts of New South Wales and Victoria have been dealing with the unwelcome phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Severe weather has caused the development. But what exactly is going on, and what do farmers do when it happens?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grain growing 101<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to have dry conditions when it\u2019s time for farmers to harvest their cereal crops like wheat and barley. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Rain is essential when crops are growing. Photo by Chrissy Kerin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Nine inches of rain caused this grain to shoot and spring. Photo by Emme Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Rain is great when the crops are green and growing, but once they start to dry off, which is essential for harvesting the grains, it\u2019s critical to have dry weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any amount of rain can stop harvest in its tracks, but excess rain can really de-rail things. \u00a0<\/p>\n

It feels wrong to wish away rain, but when a grower is hoping to harvest, it\u2019s a common prayer. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Growers have spent months and months nurturing the plant to this point. Rain at the last hurdle is a real blow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shot and sprung<\/h2>\n

Excess rain can cause the dry, unharvested\u00a0grains to germinate. The grains push out a root from their base and a green sprout from their top. \u00a0<\/p>\n

This is known as \u2018shot and sprung\u2019 grain. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Shot and sprung grain with root and sprout visible. Photo by Emme Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Once grain has shot and sprung, it becomes mostly unusable for human consumption, due to changed chemical components of the grain. \u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Viterra Australia<\/a>, sprouted wheat can lead to flour failing to rise during baking and shot barley can cause an uneven consistency in brewing efficiency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Racing to get the crops off. Photo by Josie Morris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Where does it go?<\/h2>\n

Generally, growers can still sell their germinated grain as livestock feed. Depending on markets, the pay cheque for livestock feed is likely to be lower than the\u00a0human consumption market. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rob Bell from ProAgni has uploaded a video to encourage<\/a> growers that are dealing with shot and sprung wheat in the Central West to not despair. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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A storm above harvest. Photo by: Helen Carpenter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt still has good value in livestock (feed),\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRe-evaluating your grain through a red meat production system can take advantage of a low-quality commodity that we are starting to see a little bit more of unfortunately this season.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information on the grain growing process, check out Grain Growers\u2019 resources<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n