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27 farm406 711 3rd Street NW | Great Falls: 771-2740 As Montana's largest Ag bank, we offer: We know and live agriculture in Montana! • Operating Loans & Lines of Credit • Livestock & Equipment Loans • Ag Real Estate Loans Randy Williams Belinda Darlinton Brian Skogen Mike O'Neill ©2018 Stockman Bank | NMLS ID# 440094 | Member FDIC Ser ving the Hi-Line Ser ving the Hi-Line WHOLESALE INC. Propane • Fuel • Diesel Bulk Oil • Motor Oils Fire Extinguishers Propane • Fuel • Diesel Bulk Oil • Motor Oils Fire Extinguishers Big Sandy • 378-2101 Chinook • 357-2380 Harlem • 353-2411 Havre • 265-7636 Hinsdale • 364-2200 Glasgow • 228-2713 Saco • 527-3205 Turner • 379-2399 Malta • 654-2331 Corporate Office MSU Barley Breeding Program Update Sherman is researching a winter barley that would be resilient to Montana's extreme winters and temperature fluctuations. Sherman said while barley is not as hardy as winter wheat, the program does have access to a Russian collection with "the highest winter hardiness currently available" and some MSU lines with these traits performed well over the winter in Bozeman this year, Sherman said. "We're making crosses between these survivors to improve winter hardiness as well as testing management practices to increase survivability," Sherman said. Sherman added that as winter-hardy lines are developed at MSU, end-use and malt quality traits also need to improve. Because of the improvements needed and the time it takes to breed winter lines, producing an MSU winter barley and winter forage is a long- term project of at least 10 years, she said. Sherman's program is also developing a new purple hull-less barley, well known for its nutritional value. Hull-less barley is high in protein and soluble fiber, is heart-healthy and can help improve colon health and provide diabetics with a low glycemic index. Purple barley also has an added advantage because the purple pigment has antioxidants that may help reduce the risk of cancer, Sherman said. While purple hull-less barley tends to be agronomically inferior, Sherman said her program is working to improve all these traits, especially for organic production. Traci Hoogland, an MSU graduate student, is in her last year of research determining the genetic control over forage quality for livestock. Sherman said Hoogland has already identified some high-quality lines that have been incorporated into the breeding program and she's identified genetic markers that can be used to select high quality lines early in the breeding process that will improve breeding efficiency. To submit a barley sample for a malt quality analysis, download a sample submission form from the lab's website at montana.edu/barleybreeding. For more information on the MSU Malt Quality Lab, contact Jamie Sherman at jsherman@montana.edu or 406-994-5055.

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