The cooperative nature of
barley research and improvement efforts was evident at the 36th
Barley Improvement Conference at the Hacienda Hotel in San
Diego, California, on Jan. 10-11.
Nearly 80 barley researchers,
scientists, industry officials and outreach personnel from the
U.S., Canada, Scotland, Australia and the Czech Republic
attended. Researchers from the USDA-CSREES-funded Barley
Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) also were in attendance
and held their annual meeting on Jan. 12 in the same location.
Ten educational sessions, as well as
breakout meetings to discuss malting barley research,
agricultural policy and quality evaluation issues, were held.
The educational sessions included topics on international barley
disease control, malting quality standards, biofuel production,
barley winter hardiness, the health benefits of food barley, and
genomics and technology methods used to enhance barley breeding.
The capstone of the conference was a
speech by Richard Groven, Northwood, N.D. farmer and vice
president of the National Barley Growers Association, titled
"Barley the Outlook and the Look-Outs."
Changes in barley production have been
rather dramatic in recent years. Production has decreased from
118,800,000 bushels in 2003 to 48,775,000 bushels in 2006.
Barley acreage decreased from 1,980,000 acres in 2003 to 995,000
acres in 2006.
However, recent events give cause for
increased optimism for barley producers. According to Groven,
prices have increased since July and the feed barley market has
revived due in part to the increased need for corn for ethanol
production. Dry conditions also have forced increased
consumption of carryover stocks. New variety research also looks
promising. Groven stated that "sound varieties and improved
prices allow for an optimistic outlook for barley in 2007."
The Barley CAP is a cooperative research
program that corrals the expertise of more than 10 breeding
programs in the U.S. The purpose is to utilize state-of-the-art
genetic research tools to identify important genes for barley
agronomics, disease resistance and malt and food quality. The
CAP portion of the meeting was attended by scientists from the
U.S., Canada, Scotland and Australia. Presenters were from CAP
research institutions in Minnesota, California, Oregon, and
Iowa.
