Area farm hosts barley reveal

EAGLE STAFF

People gathered at a farm south of town in July to see how Lawrence Farms grows barley.

There, officials with Labatt Breweries also revealed a new scholarship. The company will provide $10,000 each year to the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, also known as SaskBarley, that will allow the organization to increase by two the number of graduate scholarships it offers annually. The organization provides $6,000 awards for PhD-level research projects and $4,000 for master’s-level projects.

Field of barley. Photo from Pexels (not Lawrence Farms)

“Whether it’s boosting disease resistance or improving sustainability, these students are contributing to real-world solutions for farmers and the entire barley value chain,” Cody Glenn of Climax, who chairs SaskBarley, said in its statement.

“Great beer starts with great barley and great barley starts with great farmers,” added Labatt’s Ivana Yelich said in the statement.

“Barley is a critical ingredient in the brewing process and Saskatchewan consistently delivers some of the highest-quality supply in the world,” the statement said.

Labatt gets 85 per cent of the barley it uses for its Canadian products from Saskatchewan growers and purchases barley worth about $30 million each year, the statement said.

Besides learning more about barley, those attending dined on “barley-inspired dishes and beer pairings, celebrating the versatility and richness of the prairie-grown grain,” a document said.

People may start applying for the scholarships each June. The 2025 deadline was Oct. 15.

Applicants must outline how their “research will help ensure barley is a long-term, profitable and internationally competitive crop choice for Saskatchewan producers; increase the production and value of barley for both the producer and consumer; and/or support either the food, feed, malt or industrial uses of barley,” the SaskBarley website says.