Hayes runs the Barleyworld website to educate others about the importance of the grain as well as its biological mysteries. With only seven pairs of chromosomes, barley is a relatively simple plant to genetically examine compared with wheat, which has 21 chromosomal pairs, or humans, with 23 pairs. Surprisingly enough, however, the barley genome is bigger than the human genome; there is more DNA in barley than in people. In the U.S. today, only around 5 million tons of barley are cultivated each year, yielding about $100 per ton, the lowest harvests of the grain since the 1930s. (Compare this with 300-350 million tons per year of U.S. corn production or 50-60 million tons per year of wheat.) Throughout history, the best way to make barley more valuable has been to convert it into malt for making beer. This can increase the marketable value of barley by 30 percent, to a whopping $130 per ton. Obviously there has to be something besides money to interest people in barley….oh, yeah, I’ve already ended the last paragraph with that concept.

Despite the benefits barley biotech could bring to brews, Hayes is quick to point out that the barley plants used for consumption are not actually products of genetic engineering – yet. The U.S. malting and brewing industry does not approve of genetically modified barley plants being used for beer, so for now, the genetic engineering of barley is only being used as a research tool. But that takes money, and a major difficulty Hayes has experienced in his research is lack of funding. He receives some support from farmers and the brewing industry, and he’s received grants for several projects. To supplement this funding, he also sells T-shirts and other merchandise touting the benefits of barley. So next time you pop the top on a cold one, spare a thought for ole Doc Hayes, hawking his T-shirts to pay for precious lab time that will bring you a better one in days to come.