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Four powerful ways to boost Canadian barleyDate posted: September 19, 2005 Bright horizons. New barley varieties like these at the Brandon Research Centre are key to Canada's future. Generating higher returns for farmers and a stronger domestic industry. The North American Barley Workers Workshop in Red Deer, Alta., featured presentations from research leaders and industry experts. Here are excerpts from presentations that touch on four of the many key targets identified for improving the potential of Canada's barley crop. 1. Beat Fusarium Head Blight disease"Undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges that barley programs around the world have faced in the last decade has been the epidemic outbreaks of Fusarium Head Blight. Probably as with no other disease has the interaction among colleagues and the synergistic relationships been so important, from the collaborative germplasm screening networks to the brainstorming sessions carried out when working together, from China to the Midwest or Mexico." 2. Tap barley's health benefits"Interest in the use of barley as a food grain has increased primarily because of its reported health benefits. Barley is an excellent source of beta-glucan soluble fibre and contains antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients such as phenolics and lignans. These components have biological activities that can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. As a whole grain, barley can also play a role in weight maintenance. One key development which will have a significant effect on the use of barley as a food ingredient in North America is the pending FDA health claim for coronary heart disease and beta-glucan soluble fibre from barley." 3. Boost production of selected malting barley"High levels of grain protein are the greatest restriction to increasing the selected malting barley pool in Western Canada. International markets traditionally aim for less than 11.5 percent protein in malting barley, but barley exported from Canada averaged greater than 12 percent over the past 10 years. Higher protein barley is undesirable because of reduced potential fermentable extract which restricts the amount of beer that can be made from a barley's malt. The higher levels of protein in Canadian malting barley contribute to excellent fermentation potential and adequate levels of foam positive proteins but some reduction in protein could still increase the amount of barley selected in Western Canada."
4. Capitalize on growing markets"Beer production is a market that recognizes quality in barley, and Canada has a strong reputation for producing high quality malting barley. The world malting barley trade has risen from just under 5 million tonnes in 2000, to over 5.6 MT today, and it's expected to further increase to around 6.4 MT by 2011. There is solid potential in those growing numbers for Canada to improve its opportunity for generating higher returns for its barley crop" Reprintable with permission. Reproduction of this article - in whole or in part, in print or electronic - requires direct permission from Meristem Information Resources, Ltd. Contact Meristem directly to request reprint permission. |
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