Individuals interested in educational, outreach and research efforts for malting barley met at the Coors Brewing Co. in Golden, Colo., June 4-5. The meeting was organized by the Institute of Barley and Malt Sciences (IBMS), which is based at North Dakota State University, but also represents a much wider group of stakeholders.

Represented were individuals from the malting and brewing industries, barley producer organizations, universities and Extension Services. The goal of the meeting was to provide opportunities for interaction and discussion by diverse groups representing all facets of the barley-to-beer chain.

IBMS Extension team leaders met face to face for the first time on June 4. Individual Extension teams, representing Montana, Idaho and North Dakota, were formed in October 2007 with the mission of enhancing communication efforts among barley stakeholders. The teams consist of 55 individuals representing barley producers, crop consultants, industry, Extension education and university research personnel. Scott Heisel, American Malting Barley Association (AMBA), and Karen Hertsgaard, IBMS information specialist, coordinated the teams.

Developing programs to encourage ongoing and productive communication between producers and industry was a high priority of the Extension team leaders. The group also discussed available educational materials, such as Extension publications and materials produced by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service- funded Barley Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP). A key goal of the Barley CAP is education about research efforts on marker-assisted selection for barley variety development. Partial funding for the meeting was provided by the CAP.

The meeting on June 5 was a general IBMS stakeholder meeting. Outcomes from the June 4 meeting were discussed, so the group began to formulate an action plan for producer/industry communication opportunities and the coordination of production research across barley producing areas. The group indicated that hiring a barley production specialist is important for accomplishing coordinated research.

The production specialist position was approved by the IBMS board in October 2007 and by Ken Grafton, North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station director and NDSU College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources dean, in December. The position will be based out of the MonDak region (northwestern North Dakota and eastern Montana) at the NDSU Williston Research Extension Center (WREC) and Montana State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) at Sidney. The position will be under the direction of Richard Horsley, NDSU barley breeder. Horsley says the goal is to fill the position by Feb. 1, 2009.

In attendance were Extension team leaders, Ray Albrecht, Cargill Malt, Spiritwood N.D.; Ron Elkin, Idaho Barley Commission and producer, Buhl, Idaho; Grant Jackson, professor, MSU Western Triangle Agriculture Research Center, Conrad, Mont; Brian Lacey, Minnesota Barley Research and Promotion Council and producer, Wendell, Minn.; Wayne Narum, North Dakota Barley Council and producer, Bowman, N.D.; Joel Ransom, NDSU associate professor and agronomist; Tom Robinson, producer, Conrad, Mont; David Tweet, Anheuser-Busch, Fairfield, Mont.; and Juliet Windes, assistant professor, cereal cropping systems agronomist and cereal pathologist, University of Idaho Research and Extension Center, Idaho Falls.

Additional stakeholders attending the June 5 meeting were Louie Arnold, NDBC and producer, Esmond, N.D.; Jerry Bergman – WREC director and MSU-EARC director, Sidney; Jim Broten, NDBC and producer, Dazey, N.D.; Bob Brunick, Coors Brewing Co., Burley, Idaho; Greg Casey, Coors Brewing Co., Golden; Blake Cooper, Busch Agricultural Resources, Fort. Collins, Colo.; Michael Davis, AMBA, Milwaukee, Wis.; Eric Eriksmoen, Hettinger Research Extension Center; Paul Gatza, Brewers Association director, Boulder, Colo; Paul Hendrickson, Carrington Research Extension Center; Jim Hettinger, Coors Brewing Co., Golden; Horsley; Paul Krumm, Coors Brewing Co., Burley; Steve Malin, Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, Mo; Stephen Neate, NDSU plant pathology; and Jochum Wiersma, University of Minnesota Extension assistant professor, Crookston, Minn.

Also attending the meeting was Paul Schwarz, IBMS director and NDSU professor of malt and barley quality; Brian Steffenson, University of Minnesota plant pathology professor and barley CAP Extension and education team leader; Hertsgaard; and Heisel.

NDSU Agriculture Communication