Stakeholders meet to discuss Barley Innovation Centre project

“Success in establishing the International Barley Innovation Centre would be a world’s first centre for barley research. Researchers here have been working hard to not only safeguard the future of barley production but also improve the quality of current crops, resulting in better drams and pints for everyone.”

On the 27^th of August, the James Hutton Institute will host an industry roundtable event as part of the International Barley Innovation Centre scoping and planning process. The event will bring together key influencers from across the industry supply chain giving them an opportunity to input into a process that will ultimately benefit them, providing a more focused approach to the development of barley varieties.

The Institute’s Capital Projects Manager Philip Gane said: “Identifying industry needs is vital to ensuring they are embedded in the concept, governance and research aims of the new facility.

“We’re pleased to welcome leading individuals from industry with an interest in the barley value chain to a key workshop being held in Dundee this week."

Presentations will be given from Professor Colin Campbell of the James Hutton Institute, alongside industry experts including, Alan Bowie from NFU Scotland, Amanda Brown from Scotland Food and Drink, Dr James Brosnan from the Scotch Whisky Research Institute (SWRI) and Dr Ian Fotheringham from Ingenza. There will be representatives from major stakeholders such as Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) to hear first-hand the view’s from our industry partners.

Philip Gane added: “As one of Scotland’s most important crops and a key input for two of our multi-billion pound industries, beer and whisky, the James Hutton Institute is at the forefront of scientific progress where barley is concerned. Whilst research into wheat, the UK’s number one crop, is fairly widespread the James Hutton Institute is the UK's only centre of expertise for barley, the second largest crop. It is grown on about half of Scotland’s arable land.

“Success in establishing the International Barley Innovation Centre would be the UK's first centre for barley research. Researchers here have been working hard to not only safeguard the future of barley production but also improve the quality of current crops, resulting in better drams and pints for everyone.”

It is expected that a critical outcome of the event will be a clearly defined Industry Demand Statement that will in turn drive the International Barley Innovation Centre business model and planning.