French multinational plant breeder SECOBRA Research kept its UK operation under the radar as it established its breeding programme in the UK. But with UK-bred barley varieties now on the Recommended Lists, it is ready to raise its market profile and has its first presence at the Cereals event this month.
Tom Barker – Secobra Research
SECOBRA was founded in France in 1902 as the Society de Encouragement de la Culture de Orge de Brasserie, which translates as the company for the promotion of malting barley. It was formed by a group of French brewers and maltsters with the express aim of improving the quality of malting barleys available at the time.
“And that is different to most plant breeding businesses,” explains SECOBRA Research commercial manager Tom Barker. “Most are either co-operatives or owned by families or are state controlled. Whereas SECOBRA is fundamentally owned by corporate shareholders – brewers, maltsters, distributors – as well as organisations such as the Maltsters and Brewers of France, similar to the UK’s MAGB. Its largest shareholders are Soufflet, the world’s biggest maltster, Malteurop and brewer Carlsberg. So, two of the world’s largest maltsters and a global brewer are directing what we as plant breeders should be looking for in a malting barley.”
Having backers like Malteurop and Carlsberg means the business can support the entire supply chain from the seed trade, through growers and maltsters to the brewers and distillers. It also gives the company access to wider resources. For example: “We work with Carlsberg laboratories and R&D programmes in partnership on a on a lot of things” says Mr Barker. “Carlsberg genetics work is shaping the next generation of barley varieties. But this isn’t exclusive to Carlsberg – it is making the results accessible to any brewer. So, our CB Score variety, using Carlsberg genetics, is open to the whole brewing sector.”
SECOBRA is active in South America, the US and Mexico, and in some African countries, as well as throughout Europe.
The UK operation was established in 2017 through the recruitment of plant breeder Paul Bury after 32 years with Syngenta and his assistant Jo Campion, who had supported him for over 20 years to develop market-leading malting barley varieties such as Laureate, Propino and Tipple. The programme is now headed by spring barley breeder Will Pillinger with Paul working closely with him and European colleagues.
The UK work is focussed on spring barleys, with a science-based breeding programme underpinned by genetics, states Mr Barker. “The SECOBRA UK barley team is small, but punches above its weight. It has the best barley breeders, with the whole focus on that crop and no distraction or competition for resources from other crop breeding programmes. We do spring barley and we want to do it better than everybody else.
“Paul and Jo were able to create a barley breeding programme from scratch, not an opportunity that comes along very often. Facilities were limited, but this completely fresh start allowed them to focus on crossing the best to produce the best – without any drag from legacy company genetics and crosses.
SECOBRA is now breeding in two UK locations, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. The Norfolk climate is more temperate – similar to northwest Europe, Scandinavia and parts of France and the Low Countries, while the Lincolnshire Wolds is a more maritime climate, which favours barleys suitable for growing and malting in Scotland and the Borders – and the important distilling market.
“We are deliberately selecting varieties in two locations, so they are robust across two different areas – which is more work but generates considerably better data and also makes our selections clearer,” explains Mr Barker. UK maltsters have both northern and southern operations, so the two-site approach helps ensure SECOBRA has the varieties to suit both regions, while also being suitable for export to Northern European markets.
“I joined in early 2024 to develop the commercial side of the business,” he continues. “We run a lean operation, outsourcing a lot of functions. Take seed cleaning, for example. There are five or six well invested seed companies in the UK with up-to-date seed plants that we can use to process our high-grade and multiplication material. That means we don’t have to tie up capital. Effectively, we are investing in their infrastructure by contracting our seed processing and packaging through them – it involves a bit more logistics for us, but at the same time SECOBRA is actively supporting the wider UK seed trade.
“We have established a modern, competitive UK spring barley breeding programme in eight years, which is pretty impressive considering it was from a standing start. Our variety Belter was first crossed in 2018 and by 2025 was approved for brewing and on the AHDB Recommended List – incredibly fast for a new programme. Belter is an excellent variety – it’s very consistent over regions and seasons, has good grain quality and is dual use – produced by a company that is actively supporting malting barley.
Belter was granted full approval for distilling by the Malting Barley Committee this May, making it fully approved for both brewing and distilling, which is a major achievement that reflects the hard work and dedication of our breeders, research teams and everyone involved in developing the variety.
We also have Ptarmigan, a very early variety with a high specific weight and excellent grain quality, and Trailblazer, which is on the 2026 RL as the highest yielding variety. And there is a strong pipeline of spring barleys behind that.
“SECOBRA is committed to having the next generation of groundbreaking varieties to reach the UK market when they are really needed,” stresses Mr Barker. “I think innovation is far more important when growers are s struggling for cash flow – extra yield, a better specific weight or lower screenings can really make a big difference to meeting contract specs and to lifting crop gross margins.”
Now the company has varieties on the Recommended Lists, Mr Barker is actively working to raise its market profile. The business holds regular field days to ensure growers, agronomists, the seed trade and maltsters are familiar with SECOBRA material and what it can do for the whole supply chain.
SECOBRA Research will exhibit at Cereals 2026, showcasing Belter, but also hosting a discussion panel on the first day to explore how the industry responds to volatility across the full malt supply chain.
The present market is difficult, concedes Mr Barker, with a downturn in the brewing sector across Europe and now a similar trend in distilling, not helped by US tariffs. The squeeze on consumers’ disposable income is reflected in reduced demand from maltsters with some maltings mothballed or even closed. “At the same time, we have to forecast what the market might want eight years in the future – or at least have enough varieties that can do different things to supply that future market.
“SECOBRA Research started with nothing and now has a pipeline of commercial varieties,” concludes Mr Barker. “We are happy with our market position at the moment – especially when we see other major players rationalising their operations.”