The fate of the Minnesota Barley Research and Promotion Council will be determined at the Prairie Grains Conference. A vote will take place between 9 AM and noon Thursday. Ballots can be submitted at the registration table. MDA received a request last month to terminate the state barley checkoff program. The petition was signed by more than ten percent of state barley growers. With only 45 barley growers in the state, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commodity Council Coordinator Christina Iliev expects the results to be known that afternoon. “We will have staff on-site to count up the ballots and then report the results so, we expect to have a decision on the same day.”
