Highland Specialty Grains has a robust breeding program which develops new and improved varieties of barley for forage. We have varieties that are for general licensing by anybody in our network of seed dealers. We also work with associates to develop varieties specifically for their customers.
Our portfolio of forage varieties includes ‘Stockford’, which is a two-row hooded forage barley. Stockford has been a popular choice for many years. One of our newer varieties for general release is ‘Vaquero’. Like Stockford, it is a 2-row hooded variety. Vaquero is a tall, leafy variety that is an excellent producer of quality forage.
Highland Specialty Grains also licenses varieties to associates for their proprietary marketing programs. For example, Redrock is an excellent forage barley which is available for purchase only through Nutrien Ag Solutions. Other varieties which are sold under exclusive license include Eureka, Rampage and Pronto. These are available through Barkley Seed Company and its licensees.
Foundation seed is now available for our new Payback forage barley. Payback is a general release facultative 6-row hooded variety. Payback was developed to be an alternative to old 6-row forage varieties such as Westford and Bestford. It will yield better than both of those varieties in dryland environments. In environments with sufficient water and fertilizer, Payback is capable of producing tremendous yields of high-quality forage. It is a great choice for harvest as silage.
Highland Specialty Grains has other forage varieties on the launching pad. Our newest variety is a two-row spring-planted, hooded variety named “Rockford”. Rockford has good grain yield, test weight and maturity. It is going to be a few inches shorter than Vaquero and Payback and an inch or two taller than Stockford. Forage yield has averaged about 6% better than Stockford. Foundation seed of Rockford will be available in late spring of 2025.
Highland Specialty Grains is getting ready to release one winter forage barley variety. It is MLW319-740, which is a two-row hooded barley. It has excellent winter-hardiness for a barley. MLW319-740 can be grown alone or in blends with other species such as triticale.
Also coming soon is a triticale variety, HSG 23. HSG 23 is an awnletted triticale that has excellent grain and forage yield. It has done well in trials when compared to a triticale such as Merlin. A limited amount of HSG 23 is available for planting. Please let us know if you would like to grow any of these new varieties.
Forage Varieties include
Vaquero
Stockford
Redrock
Eureka
Rampage
Pronto