Highland Specialty Grains is a small barley breeding company founded in 2013 by Dan McKay, Don Sloan, Bryce McKay, and Mike McKay. It’s a close-knit venture, with family and friends in all the principal roles at the company. More than our relationships though, we’re tied together by a common purpose: merging a long-standing tradition of agricultural excellence with innovative techniques that will bring barley to the forefront of twenty-first century agriculture.
In November of 2013, Highland acquired barley germplasm from WestBred (a subsidiary of Monsanto) in order to jump-start our entry into the barley breeding field. The acquisition included established varieties such as Champion, Stockford, and BG-012. It has enabled Highland to develop and release a series of new and improved barley varieties.
Highland’s research program also includes crops that are complementary to our barley program. Those crops include Hard Red Winter Wheat, Hard Red Spring Wheat, specialty wheats, triticale, buckwheat, quinoa and mustard.