Boise, Idaho
May 31, 2007
Just a half year ago, the Idaho
Barley Commission shipped Japanese buyers a specialty barley
that looks, cooks, tastes and feels almost like rice, but its
high levels of a soluble fiber called beta glucan make it
healthier for Japanese-and American-hearts.
"The Japanese are very deliberative. It can take a year to come
into their market," says administrator Kelly Olson. But within
three months, the Japanese were buying 'Salute,' a WestBred high
beta-glucan barley, from a southern Idaho firm, and within six
months, growers in northern Idaho were contracting with Genesee
Union to produce a Japan-bound crop for 2007.
"It's definitely new to us," says Sam White, the cooperative's
grain department manager. "I'm going to be as interested
watching it as the next person out there."
It's not quite so new to
University of Idaho crop management specialist Brad Brown,
who has included barleys with elevated levels of beta glucan in
his variety and fertilizer trials for the past few years. Brown
says they've yielded 80 to 90 percent as much as typical feed
barleys in his southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon tests. In
Moscow, counterpart Stephen Guy is examining the extent to which
different seed treatments and seeding rates can improve yields,
while colleague Juliet Windes in southeastern Idaho is
investigating whether plant physiology or plant diseases may be
undermining seedling emergence under challenging conditions.
Even without focused breeding for high beta glucan content,
barley contains more of the soluble fiber than other grains. In
part, that's because beta glucan is found throughout the kernel:
remove the bran and you've still got a heart-healthy product.
But demand for malt and animal feed-not human food-have
historically driven barley's markets, and Olson says less than 3
percent of the U.S. crop goes to human consumption. Since May
2006, however, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed
foods containing at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per
serving to bear the health claim that they "may reduce the risk
of heart disease"-and Olson expects that labeling to start
making a difference.
"There's a huge amount of excitement out there," she says. "You
can get health benefits without taking a pill. It's more
natural, it's less expensive and it works."
Idaho growers-who produce the nation's second-largest barley
crop-are already enjoying healthy barley prices. Demand for
biofuel corn boosted barley prices beyond $7 a hundredweight
earlier this season-a whopping $3 more than a year ago-and
growers have responded by increasing plantings to an estimated
550,000 acres. Previously, Idaho acreage had slipped steadily
from 1,370,000 in 1984 to 530,000 last year, says Paul
Patterson, University of Idaho Extension agricultural economist.
Patterson says demand for high beta-glucan barleys could be the
icing on the cake-or even help keep the cake from caving in.
"Diversification improves your position in the market from a
risk management standpoint," he says. "If we have feed barley
prices between $7 and $8, anybody can make money growing feed
barley. If things drop back to a more normal level, specialty
varieties may be beneficial, particularly if they are grown
under a contract."
The driving force behind the demand for healthy diets is
independent of the driving force for ethanol, Patterson notes.
"If the ethanol thing collapses, you'll still have a demand for
healthy diets, which is what drives the interest in beta
glucan."
Much of what's fueling the interest in high beta-glucan barleys
among Idaho growers is Treasure Valley Renewable Resources'
fractionation plant, soon to be under construction in Ontario,
Ore. Project manager John Hamilton says the plant will feed both
the demand for healthy foods and the demand for domestic fuels
by separating barley's components. The crop's beta glucan will
go to nutraceutical markets, its protein will be sold for fish
feed and the rest will be converted to ethanol.
Hamilton has hopes for both WestBred's 'Salute'-the same variety
that Genesee Union is growing for Japan-and for an especially
promising WestBred line called YU 599-006. Under irrigated
conditions, 'Salute' offers nearly the yield of standard-setter
Baronesse and-at 6 to 7 percent-about twice the beta glucan,
says WestBred barley breeder Dale Clark. He notes that YU
599-006's beta glucan content is even higher-in the 8 to 9
percent range-and so is its irrigated yield.
Although the market for food barleys is still developing,
WestBred commercial manager Kevin Hodges says "we do see a lot
of interest, and a growing interest, and we're very excited
about the food barley market."
Three other high beta-glucan lines-all from the USDA
Agricultural Research Center at Aberdeen-have also captured
Hamilton's eye. At Aberdeen, barley breeder Don Obert says the
challenge has been developing high beta-glucan barleys that give
producers the yields they've come to expect in feed and malting
barleys. Hulls add 10-15 percent to yields and most high
beta-glucan lines are hulless, Obert says. Hulless varieties are
an advantage for buyers-who don't have to pay for hulls they'll
only have to remove-but not necessarily for growers, who aren't
reliably compensated for the characteristic. Plus, the high
beta-glucan quality comes at a genetic cost. "Typically, with 10
percent or more beta glucan, you get a lot of agronomic
problems," Obert says. "I'm more apt to look at something that
has 8 percent beta glucan that yields significantly better."
Later this year, the ARS plans to release a new line, 01AH2812,
with 8.5 percent beta glucan. It averages about 65 percent of
Baronesse's yield across both irrigated and dryland conditions,
Obert says, and should be followed in 2009 or 2010 with superior
varieties. "That's always your goal-to continually be releasing
something that's better than its predecessor."
"We're trying to make sure we have sustainable, productive,
agricultural systems for our growers," says Windes of the
University of Idaho research and extension trials. "We really do
have a great market potential for these food-barley varieties.
The future is bright."
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state's
flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate
education and research university, bringing insight and
innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University
researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and
contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only
institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie
Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university's
student population includes first-generation college students
and ethnically diverse scholars. Its high academic performers
include 42 National Merit Scholars and a 2006-07 freshman class
with an average high school grade point average of 3.42.
Offering more than 150 degree options in 10 colleges, the
university combines the strengths of a large university with the
intimacy of small learning communities. For information, visit
www.uidaho.edu. |
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