Recently, a textbook was compiled by Matís on grain and important aspects concerning grain cultivation in Iceland.
Build (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been cultivated for over 10,000 years. Barley is the type of grain that needs the shortest growing time to reach maturity and is therefore grown in northern areas. In Iceland, interest in the utilization of domestic grain for food production has increased in recent years. Icelandic barley is an interesting raw material but it offers many possibilities in the food industry and cooking. Domestic barley has gained a foothold in the country's bakeries, as the competition for bread of the year 2009 organized by the company Kornax entails. Bread from Icelandic barley is now available in various bakeries in the country. There are opportunities in the use of barley for special products all over the country, so-called district registers. The tourism industry can benefit from such a development.
Food grain is more valuable than feed grain, so grain farmers are still struggling to bring part of their harvest to food production. It must be borne in mind that more demands are made on food barley than on feed barley. Quality requirements have been set for barley for food production. The quality requirements were prepared by Matís ohf and the Agricultural University of Iceland in a project funded by the Agricultural Productivity Fund. The quality requirements are conceived as a reference in business so that both buyers and sellers have the same understanding of the product.
The entire textbook can be found here.
The educational material is published with the support of the Vocational Education Council. Reports quoted in the issue can be found on Matís' website, www.matis.is/utgafa/matis/skyrslur/
For further information Ólafur Reykdal.