The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) has appointed a former United States specialist plant breeder to help increase barley’s footprint in Queensland farming areas.

He is Dr Jerry Franckowiak, a former barley breeder at North Dakota State University for 28 years.

Dr Franckowiak is based at the DPI&F Hermitage Research Station, near Warwick, but will be involved in state-wide trials.

Dr Franckowiak said the current Barley Breeding Australia (BBA) North project gives him five years to increase barley’s adaptability to the range of Queensland farming environments. 

“The aim is to produce more barley for both feed and malting and increase cropping diversity,” he said.

“We’ll be looking for high yields, drought tolerance and disease resistance in our research,” he said.

Dr Franckowiak said he would work closely with DPI&F foliar pathologist Greg Platz and cereal chemists Andy Inkerman and Glen Fox.

He said barley was among the world’s most adaptable crops and successfully cultivated in extreme environments ranging from hot and dry to cold and wet.

This level of environmental tolerance was important in the face of global warming and the weather extremes predicted for Australia and other countries, he said.

Dr Franckowiak said he would be working largely with the existing germplasm in Australia but might also seek to import some material from North Dakota.

He said he welcomed the opportunity to come to Australia to continue his barley breeding work.

“Barley is a great crop to work with and my wife and I welcomed the opportunity to move to this country,” Dr Franckowiak said.