Seed of the Year West is proud to announce Harrington barley, as the winner of the 2009
Seed of the Year - West. Congratulations go out to Bryan Harvey and Brian Rossnagel and
the research team at the University of Saskatchewan responsible for Harrington. Harrington
was the first high enzyme, rapid modification two-row malting barley bred in Canada.
Harrington was released in 1981, with the first certified seed sold in 1983, rapidly taking
over the Canadian acreage.
Harrington could be malted right off the combine and thus eliminated the need to mature
barley in post-harvest storage. This gave processors much greater flexibility in material
handling and inventory flow. Harrington turned out to be a very forgiving variety for
processing in both the malt house and the brewery, and gave consistently good results
despite variations in handling.
Bruce Coulman who nominated Harrington noted that “Harrington was the dominant variety
of malting barley for so many years, and is still in production after more than 25 years. In
addition, it became a world standard for malting barley quality. Bryan Harvey and Brian
Rossnagel have had such outstanding careers in barley breeding - it was appropriate that
one of their varieties be nominated.”
More than 60 million acres of Harrington have been grown in western Canada with the
single-year peak coming in 1991 with 4.7 million acres. Total Harrington production of more
than three billion bushels has an estimated value of more than $15 billion.
Seed of the Year is designed to provide recognition to publicly-developed varieties that have
made a significant contribution to the economy, agriculture, and the Canadian public in
general. Although the name, Seed of the Year, indicates the contribution in a particular year,
the program is much broader reaching and considers total lifetime achievement and
contribution. It is important to recognize the value of our public plant breeding programs, as
well as encourage the entry of new plant breeders to the industry.
Part of the western award is a scholarship for $4000 that is awarded to a student enrolled in
a western Canadian university and currently completing a Masters or Ph.-D in plant
breeding or genetics. Bryan Harvey and Brian Rossnagel will now be asked to review and
select the scholarship award winner.
The Seed of The Year award program highlights the importance of plant breeding and the
seed industry to crop production in Canada. The scholarship aspect will contribute to the
education of a new generation of plant breeders.
Canada, Alberta Barley Commission, Canterra Seeds, Cargill, Canadian Wheat Board,
Parrish & Heimbecker Limited, Canadian Seed Growers Association, Viterra, Richardson
International, SeCan, and Western Grains Research Foundation. We also wish to thank the
judges and other applicants who applied.
For more information on Seed of the Year, as well as application forms for next year, please
visit www.seedoftheyear.ca/west
