Winter Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a high-energy concentrate source for their livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting. In 2011-2012, UVM Extension conducted a winter barley trial to evaluate the yield and quality of publicly available malting and feed barley varieties

Effect of barley preservation method on milk production and milk quality in organic farming

The effect of dried vs. ensiled barley (cv. Arve) on feed intake, milk yield and quality in organic production was tested in two experiments in Northern Norway. In the first experiment, two groups were given either 40% or 10% concentrated feed (barley) per cow and year, calculated on energy basis. Grass silage was fed ad. lib. Both drying and ensiling preserved barley properly and resulted in approximately the same feed intake and milk production. Cows in the group with 10% barley had lower milk protein concentration than cows in the group with 40% barley. The palatability of barley was in general low, and several cows refused parts of their allowances throughout the experiment. The second experiment had a cross over design with three treatments. The trial was designed to evaluate the effect of preservation method for barley on sensoric milk quality. The cows were fed well-preserved grass silage ad lib. and supplemented with 5.8 kg DM of either dried barley, barley ensiled with molasses, or barley ensiled with a propionic acid-containing additive. All types of barley were well preserved and no negative effect of ensiled barley was observed

Spring Barley Seeding Rate and Interseeding Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in sourcing local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a concentrated, high-energy feed source for livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting and livestock feed

Winter Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in sourcing local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a concentrated, high-energy feed source for livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting and livestock feed. Winter barley has not been traditionally grown in the Northeast due to severe winterkill. However, newly developed varieties and a changing climate have encouraged our team to investigate this crop for the area. In 2013-2014, UVM Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils Program conducted a winter barley trial to evaluate the yield and quality of malting and feed barley varieties

Organic Spring Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the locavore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in sourcing local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting. In 2015, UVM Extension in collaboration with the Uniform Eastern Spring Malting Barley Nursery (UESMBN), conducted a spring malting barley trial to evaluate yield and quality of 20 varieties

Using health psychology to help patients: promoting wellbeing

This article explores the construct of wellbeing. Research concerning the relationship between subjective wellbeing and health is discussed. Key components of wellbeing that are important to health include ‘sense of coherence’, ‘optimism’ and ‘benefit finding and post-traumatic growth’. A range of positive psychology interventions that aim to increase positive thoughts, feelings and emotions in order to improve wellbeing have been developed. Mindfulness-based approaches to improving wellbeing are especially popular and are evidence based. These focus on helping the individual to develop an awareness of the present with acceptance and attention. Instead of trying to change uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, the individual practices accepting these, without judgement. Nurses can draw on the information in this article to provide evidence-based advice and guidance to help improve their patients' and their own wellbeing

Improving Barley for Organic Producers: What Do Organic Producers Want?

Researchers surveyed organic barley producers in order to find out how many acres they are growing, what varieties they grow, what markets they are growing barley for, whether they receive a price premium for organic barley, whether they are growing or would be interested in growing multi-use naked barley, what production challenges they face, and what traits they would like to see improved

Winter Barley Planting Date and Nitrogen Amendment Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the locavore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in sourcing local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a concentrated, high-energy feed source for livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting and livestock feed. Winter barley has not been traditionally grown in the Northeast due to severe winterkill. However, newly developed varieties and a changing climate have encouraged our team to investigate this crop for the area. In 2015, we undertook this project in coordination with the University of Massachusetts to evaluate the effects of winter barley planting date and quantity of fall and spring nitrogen amendments on barley yields and quality

Spring Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a concentrate source for their livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall. In 2012, UVM Extension conducted two spring barley trials to evaluate the yield and quality of publicly available malting and feed barley varieties

Organic barley producers' desired qualities for crop improvement

Barley fits well into many different organic farming systems. It can be grown as either a winter or spring annual crop in many temperate regions. Barley can be used for food, malting, or animal feed, providing growers with diverse marketing opportunities. Despite its advantages, many organic farmers in the USA have not adopted barley as a regular crop in their rotation. Researchers surveyed organic barley producers to discover what they considered to be the main obstacles to growing barley. The primary obstacles identified were limited markets and price. Breeding and development of high-quality barley suitable for organic systems and specialty markets may be a way to expand markets and secure a better price. Farmers identified yield as the most important agronomic trait of interest, but other traits such as nutritional quality were also highly ranked. Naked (hull-less) barley bred for multi-use quality is a possible alternative that allows organic farmers to sell into multiple markets. Most respondents expressed interest in the development of such varieties suitable for organic farming conditions. The researchers conducted follow-up interviews to obtain detailed information on how barley is used in organic farming systems, production practices, costs of production, and what traits farmers would like to see breeders focus on