Agriculture Canada announced an $8-million grant to the Alberta Barley Commission (ABC) to fund its Barley Research Cluster July 9.
The funding will go towards 28 research projects around industry priorities of feed, malt and food barley.
“This is a game changer for the future of barley,” said ABC chairman Matt Sawyer. “This is exactly the shot in the arm the barley industry needed.”
He said barley would be able to grow and move front-and-centre now with this type of investment.
The Barley Commission represents the province’s 17,000 barley farmers, of which 341 are operating in Rocky View County.
The research cluster aims to increase competitiveness of the Canadian barley industry and reduce risk and expenses faced by producers.
It is designed to serve as a catalyst for innovation by supporting not only research, but also development, commercialization and adoption of innovative products, technologies and services, according to the ABC.
Current projects include but are not limited to, research on increasing barley yields, improving wheat varieties to obtain higher quality at lower production costs and breeding more disease-resistant varieties.
“These projects will produce tangible results for producers,” Sawyer said, adding the results will lead to more profits for farmers.
The chairman said ABC had not yet determined how much each of the 28 projects will receive of the $8 million and is currently waiting on further details from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada before making those decisions.
ABC will work with the Barley Council of Canada (BCC) to manage the 28 projects in the research cluster.
Sawyer said working together with like-minded stakeholders will lead to less duplication of projects because everyone will be “in the loop.”
“We’re eager to work with farmers, for farmers,” said ABC vice- chairman and BCC director Trevor Petersen. “This is just the beginning – once these projects start to gain traction, the sky’s the limit for barley farmers.”
“The BCC is looking forward to collaborating with industry to expand barley’s potential,” said BCC chairman Brian Otto.
“We are now on the road to making Canada’s barley industry a global leader.”
“It’s such a global market place right now,” Sawyer said, adding he was especially excited about the grant because the barley market was opened to the public in August of 2012.
For more information on research projects, visit albertabarley.com.
