Increased protein production from Norwegian barley for animal feed

ProteinBar is a collaborative project along the grain value chain in Norway to ensure a better utilization of domestically produced barley for animal feed. Through adaptation of sensor technologies, split fertilization strategies and breeding of new barley varieties we aim to increase the protein content of barley. High protein barley will be tested in feeding trials and possible solutions for a differentiated pricing system of barley according to protein content will be explored. We make use of various sensor technologies to gain insight into the interactions between soil variation, nutrient uptake and remobilization of nitrogen in the barley plants during the field season. Multispectral drone images capture the growth, development and nitrogen status, and these data are being coupled with variation in soil properties measured with soil sensors to explain differences in plant available nitrogen. Two master students are connected to this work in 2024 and 2025. During the 2024 field season multispectral drone images were captured and soil and pore water samples were collected, together with the use of selected soil and plant sensors. The collaboration with technology companies like Agdir and AgriSenze is working well. Data will be analyzed in autumn 2024 and spring 2025 with the expectation to uncover interesting correlations. So far it looks like the affordable soil sensor produced in China that we tested provides unreliable values of pH, electrical conductivity and nitrogen. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons we have conducted field trials with 20 historical barley varieties at Vollebekk in Ås with two N-fertilization levels: 90 and 140 kg N/ha. Multispectral drone images during the season, measurements with hand-held N-sensor and chemical analysis of flag leaf samples at anthesis have given new and interesting information about the plants’ nitrogen uptake. There is a clear tendency of improved nitrogen uptake and utilization in modern varieties compared to those cultivated 30-40 years ago. For the genetic studies we use similar methodology in field trials with 250 barley varieties and breeding liens conducted at Søråsjordet by NMBU and at Bjørke by Graminor in the years 2024 and 2025. Genotype data with SNP markers will be used for mapping the main genetic loci behind protein content and grain yield for barley grown under Norwegian conditions. This will provide the basis for developing selection tools that can be used for breeding new barley varieties with improved nitrogen use efficiency and higher protein content. Nitrogen fertilization should be tailored to the soil N-content, the needs of the plants, and adjusted according to soil variations, weather conditions, developmental stage and expected yield and protein content. In this project with aim to study the impact of N fertilization on both yield and protein content in barley. In 2023 and 2024, fertilization trials were conducted by NIBIO at Apelsvoll, by NLR units and at NMBU, where different split fertilization strategies were tested in the modern high-yielding barley varieties Ismena and Annika. The biomass has been assessed with handheld N-sensor and multispectral drone images. At selected developmental stages, representative biomass samples have been collected as references to the spectral measurements. The weekly assessments with handheld N-sensor have been put together and published as weekly updates on the N-uptake in barley at the different trial locations. These field trials will be repeated in 2025. Altogether, these results will provide the foundation for new, updated and site-specific recommendations for fertilization strategies in barley. New feed formulas that can increase the utilization of Norwegian high-protein barley in the feed concentrates for ruminants and monogastric animals will be developed together with the feed industry. In 2024, analyses of amino acid composition and in vitro digestibility was initiated based on grain samples from selected barley varieties with large variations in protein content from different nitrogen fertilizations in 2023. Selected samples from these analyses will be used for in vivo experiments in 2025, together with a few more samples from the 2024 season. Large-scale feeding trials with pigs is planned during the winter of 2025/2026. A project web page has been established at NMBU, and we have made a ProteinBar logo that will be used in dissemination activities. Information about the project is also available at the kornforum.no web page. The project was presented at ‘Kornkonferansen 2023’, and a dialogue with precision-minded barley growers was established at the Yara N-sensor meeting in 2023. During the 2023 and 2024 field seasons the project has been presented at field days arranged by NMBU, NIBIO and NLR. Newsletters in June with weekly updates from the N-sensor measurements in the split fertilization trials were disseminated by NLR and Yara both in 2023 and 2024.

The animal production in Norway has become more specialized with increased demands for the nutritional composition of the feed concentrates, and especially protein content. More and more protein-rich feed ingredients like rapeseed cake and soybean meal are being imported at the expense of the domestically produced feed grains, which are low in protein content and considered mostly as a carbohydrate source. However, there is a great potential to increase the protein content of Norwegian feed grains, both short-term through optimized nitrogen fertilization and long-term through breeding of high protein content cultivars. With focus on barley, the largest feed grain in Norway, we will engage with central actors in the grain and feed industry from farmers and the agricultural extension service to the feed producers and plant breeders to develop targeted production technologies for increasing the protein production and ensuring a better utilization of the domestically produced feed grains. The latest sensor technologies in precision agriculture and smart farming will be used to generate new knowledge about the link between soil variability, nutrient uptake and nitrogen remobilization in the plants during the growing season. Targeted split nitrogen fertilization regimes will be developed that can be applied by the farmers to optimize both yield and protein content in barley. Genetic studies will be performed, and tools developed for the breeding of barley cultivars with increased nitrogen use efficiency and protein content. Moreover, new feed formulas will be developed to increase the utilization of domestic barley in the feed concentrates for ruminant and monogastric animals. We will also interact with the industry and policy makers to come up with a differentiated pricing system to stimulate increased protein production based on Norwegian feed barley. Overall, the project will contribute to a more profitable, sustainable and self-sufficient Norwegian agriculture.