This year marks a half century of barley breeding at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC). The program has created plenty of top-tier varieties for western Canadian farmers since 1971.

Two years ago, the Canadian Barley Industry Round Table undertook a comprehensive review of the various organizations that represent the crop’s value chain.

Yield and quality are not everything to farmers; they’re the only things. In agriculture, success is measured by numbers, and the statistics for barley yield in recent years do not tell a winning tale.