08/17/06 Promoting healthy barley

Good news for Idaho barley growers. A 54 thousand dollar matching grant from USDA should help the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and the Barley Commission create a domestic marketing program for value added barley foods. The Food and Drug Administration has recently recognized the health benefits of barley. Doctor Joan Conway is a USDA researcher who has done extensive work with barley. CONWAY "It helps to lower cholesterol when consumed as part of a prudent diet and secondly in our laboratory we've been able to demonstrate that it also helps moderate glucose and insulin so we believe that barley is going to be a good food with type two diabetes or who are at risk for type two diabetes." The Barley Commission says it will get the message out to health and nutrition professionals, food manufacturers and consumers on the benefits of barley in the diet. The Idaho Potato Commission also received a similar federal grant this year. The 54 thousand dollar grant is shared with Oregon and Washington so the three states can prepare a technical guild for snack food manufacturers and conduct seminars in Central America to promote fresh and chipping potatoes. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott