US testing low-phytate barley feed in Vietnam

Tor-Eddie Fossbakk Approximately 21 metric tons of low-phytate barley was shipped to Vietnam where it will be field tested, the AllAboutFeed.net website wrote last week. The Idaho Barley Commission donated the barley and the Grains Council arranged for payment of ocean freight. The intention is to study the low-phytate barley in relation to its use as feed for Catfish Tra, one of the major fish grown in Vietnam, popular for human consumption. Approximately 70% of the phosphorous in conventional barley exists in the form of phytate, which cannot be readily digested by monogastric animals such as fish. The new low-phytate barley called Clearwater has 50% less phytate, according to research conducted by USDA’s National Small Grains Germplasm Research Facility in Aberdeen, Idaho, AllAboutFeed.net reported. Currently, Catfish Tra feed consists primarily of soybean meal, wheat by-products, fishmeal and rice by-products and others. Because the US barley production is increasing, availability for barley for export will therefore increase as well. This increase in barley supply is the rationale for the Idaho Barley Commission donating the low-phytate barley.