High hopes for New York-developed malting barley
EMPIRE MALTING BARLEY: Malting barley variety trials are seen, including varieties developed by the lab of Mark Sorrells, at one of the university’s test plots in Batavia, N.Y. Sorrells is one of the lead researchers for CU-31. CU-31, a spring malting barley, was developed in four years and will be grown for commercial seed in 2021.
Francis Domoy has grown what’s considered to be New York’s first climate-adapted grain. But it’s not corn or soybeans. It’s malting barley.
“The variety has demonstrated great uniformity, plump kernels, stiffness and large head size,” says Domoy, who grew the variety CU-31 in his Rochester fields this year for seed.