Such a concise overview of how a cereal is grown, bred and used and its quality is great. We saw that with rye and wheat,” says Christiane von der Ohe (see insideKWS 2/2017 and 4/2018). The project manager has compiled facts and figures about the successful cereal. She gleaned them from sources such as the German Federal Office of Plant Varieties, which is responsible for approving varieties and variety protection, Destatis (Germany's Federal Statistical Office), and the market research institute Kleffmann.

Three months work – to great benefit

“The basic structure was already in place, so I had it easy,” she says. “Yet there is a special case with barley: Beer is also an exciting topic internationally.” Her info graphic underwent a few efficient coordination sessions and was ready in just under three months.

It has since been used in a variety of versatile ways: It has been published in BlickPunkt, KWS Cereals’ customer magazine, which has a print run of 23,000, and on KWS’ website.

Target group: everyone

“Experienced farmers are not its main target group,” states Christiane von der Ohe. The info graphic is aimed at people who aren’t deeply into the subject, such as employees at internal field days.

“We use it to present our work when we meet other teams. It’s also very suitable for school groups. Field service staffers take it along with them. It makes it easy to strike up a great conversation with people without going over their head.”

Versatile winter and summer barley

The chart allows everyone to see right away what Christiane von der Ohe already knows (and not just since she created it): Barley is versatile. And the info graphic shows why:

• Winter barley is grown on around 1.2 million hectares in Germany, making it the country’s second most important cereal. It is mainly cultivated in northeast and central Germany.
• Summer barley is mainly grown in southern Germany. It copes better with aridity than other cereals because it is harvested early and promotes plant health by expanding the crop rotation.

The main breeding objectives are grain yield, straw stiffness, and marketing quality. Breeding progress has meant yields have risen for the past 20 years to now more than 70 quintals per hectare for winter barley and up to 60 quintals per hectare for summer barley. And: The list of disease resistances tackled is long.

The main uses of the cereal:

• Fodder for animals
• Industrial use, for example for beer
• Power generation

Barley has to meet special demands in beer production in particular: Among other things, its protein content must not exceed 12% and the grains must have the right size.

Thanks to all those qualities, barley has a firm place in the crop rotation of most German farms. |