Introduction

The Cereal Project provides guidelines and information that will be useful for farmers, initiators, SMEs and the food industry in general. It is expected that this information will be helpful for stakeholders after the completion of the project.

The topics cover the whole cereal value chain. The information is collected under different topics to make it easier for users to find what they need.

Each topic starts with explanation of available information. Guidelines and reports can be downloaded. The names of the files are descriptive, indicating the topic, the title, the source (NPA_Cereal Project) and the deliverable number defined by the project.

The first topic is the Cereal Project poster and general dissemination. This provides an overview on the project. Many presentations are available from yearly project conferences. Key Power Point presentations (as pdf files) are provided under some of the topics. The conferences are also reported as special topics with selected presentations available.

Project poster and dissemination

The Cereal Project poster provides an overview for the project. The information can also be downloaded as handouts (2 pages).

Cereal markets

At the beginning of the Cereal Project, baseline data on cereal markets were collected. The results are available as a report which includes information on the local production, import and use of cereals and cereal-based food and beverage products in the Northern Periphery Regions. Also, local and global trends in cereal food and beverage markets are reported. This work helps to identify possibilities for new products and services and strategies for marketing these products so that they have maximum appeal to consumers.

Cereal cultivation

 The Cereal Project establishes guidelines and information on cereal (particularly barley) cultivation under northern conditions. This work is ongoing. A report on methodology can be downloaded (determination of suitable areas for barley cultivation).

Information under this topic should make it possible for a number of farmers in the NPA region to establish themselves as producers of high quality cereals that will provide the raw material for the development of new local food and beverage products.

Grain drying

In the Northern Periphery Region, grains are usually harvested at moisture contents too high for safe storage. The harvested grain can then either be wet processed for feed (airtight storage or acidification) or dried. Drying of grain makes several higher value uses possible, including milling for baking flour, malting for the beverage industry and seed for sustainable agriculture. Drying of the grain has to be completed before microbial deterioration occurs.

Sustainability

Results from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluation are available for the Thorvaldseyri farm in Iceland, including environmental impacts and energy use at the farm. The results can be used to demonstrate how environmental impacts and uses of resources can be minimized to improve sustainability and reduce footprint. Two reports and guidelines can be downloaded.

Bakery products

A report based on a bakery product development course has been prepared in English and Norwegian. The information is valuable for product development within this sector. The discussion is confined to barley which is the most important cereal for northern regions. Information is provided on the properties and wholesomeness of barley, health claims and development methodology.

Malting

Reports are available on malting trials, quality criteria for malting barley and case studies using floor malting methods. For successful malting, knowledge on the correct execution of all steps is very important. Therefore, the information provided here can be of great value for people starting in this field.

Beverages

The use of local cereals to develop beverage products is an important way of adding value and uniqueness to these products. Examples are provided of how this has been done successfully by several project stakeholders.

Conference 2015 - Orkney

The 2015 Orkney conference was the project’s first annual conference. The emphasis was placed on the production of beverages, the malting process and cultivation of barley suitable for malting. Selected presentations can be downloaded as pdf files.

Seminar 2016 – Northern Norway

A seminar was held in Tromsø Northern Norway in March 2016. The seminar concentrated on knowledge transfer to farmers interested in starting barley growing. Selected presentations can be downloaded as pdf files.

Conference 2016 – Faroe Islands

In November 2016 partners met in Faroe Islands for a project meeting and an annual project conference organized by the Agricultural Agency. On November 12th an open conference was held at the Agricultural Agency with presentations from all the partner countries as well as 2 associate partners from the Faroe Islands on farming and brewing respectably. The third Faroese presentation was from Janus Vang, the founder and CEO of Inova, a newly established food laboratory on the Islands. The conference was attended by 20 farmers and persons interested in barley production. As a result of the conference, farmers in the islands will start barley growing.

Conference 2018 - Iceland

The final Cereal Project conference was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, March 7th 2018. Project progress was reviewed in presentations by all partners. The first part of the conference included presentations on cereal cultivation but the second part dealed with cereal products. Presentations and photos are published below.

Cereal products from the project were disseminated at a workshop March 6th 2018. During the workshop participants could taste products and exchange knowledge between countries. The final project meeting was also held March 6th and finally an excursion through agricultural areas in South Iceland was provided March 8th.

Photo gallery: Bakery products - Courses in Norway

Photo gallery: Cereral cultivation

Photo gallery: Final Conference 2018 - Reykjavik, Iceland

Photo gallery: Product Workshop 2018, Reykjavik, Iceland

Photo gallery: Excursion 2018 - South Iceland

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