Food manufacturers will soon have access to a new CSIRO-bred barley variety, which reportedly has significant human health benefits. A licence agreement between the CSIRO/Australian Capital Ventures Limited joint venture and Austgrains Pty Ltd is set to enable the production of large scale commercial crops of ‘BARLEYmax’, which has been created by CSIRO using “conventional plant breeding techniques”. Dr Bruce Lee, Director of the CSIRO Food Futures Flagship, indicates that... ...Read more »

Record prices and new players in the barley market are expected to result in an increase in barley planting in southern New South Wales according to the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Dr Neil Fettell, supervisor of a GRDC project aimed at improving barley agronomy in south-eastern Australia. “In many ways barley is a forgotten crop in southern New South Wales,” Dr Fettell said. “However a world shortage of malting barley – and the fact that no grain can be substituted for it –... ...Read more »