2026 Barley Improvement Conference

The 2026 Barley Improvement Conference was held in San Diego, January 7-8 at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego Bayside.

This biennial conference brings together the best in barley research with the malting, brewing, and distilling industries. The program supports a robust forum for conversation and collaboration.  

Select presentations were recorded and can be viewed on AMBA's YouTube channel. 

Poster Session - Submission period now closed!

The Barley Improvement Conference is offering a limited opportunity for attendees to share their research in a nontraditional format; prioritizing inclusion from graduate students and postdocs. Scientists will have the opportunity to present a 90 second elevator speech inviting attendees to visit with them during the Welcome Reception at the conclusion of day 1 (January 7th). Learn more about this opportunity here.

 

Conference Program

Wednesday, January 7th (sessions start at 9 am and reception concludes at 7 pm local time)

• Morning session focused on Accelerating Barley Improvement: talks on leveraging genomic selection, double haploid breeding, gene editing applications, and coordinated nursery strategy
• Afternoon session focused on Breeding Progress in AMBA Research: talks including breeder updates, winter barley data trends, reflections on 30 years of Scab research, and addressing emerging diseases
• Poster session and welcome reception in the evening (dinner on your own)

Thursday, January 8th (sessions start at 8:30 am and day concludes with dinner at 6 pm local time)

• Morning session focused on Strategies to Unlock Barley's Potential: talks on the future of GN & EC research, new findings in malting science, climate impacts on malt quality, and state of the industries - brewing and distilling
• Afternoon session focused on Progress on Sustainability: reviewing outcomes of AMBA's sustainability workgroups including Baselining Barley, Optimizing Nitrogen, and Communicating Sustainability
• Evening dinner and keynote featuring Scott Heisel, AMBA President

Contact Ashley McFarland with questions about the conference or for sponsorship opportunities: ashley@ambainc.org, (208) 215-0407

Thank you to our confirmed sponsors:

• RahrBSG
• Great Western Malting
• National Barley Growers Association
• Idaho Barley Commission
• North Dakota Barley Council
• Montana Wheat & Barley Committee
• New Belgium Brewing & Bell's Brewery
• Limagrain Cereal Seeds
• Evonik
• Molson Coors
• Boston Beer Company
• Malteurop
• Rhinegeist Brewery
• Deschutes Brewery
• Montana Grain Growers Association
• Washington Grain Commission