During that time he has mainly studied the uses of barley as feed for animals such as pigs and chickens. Froseth said in the last few years he has been coordinating for the West Regional Coordination Committee. Before being appointed coordinator Froseth was on the research committee, he said. The rest is used for malting and human uses. Froseth said their main goal is to make barley better for the animals.
Feed efficiency is also a top priority.
No farmer wants to buy a feed if it is expensive and the animals cost more to feed than they are worth, he said. When Froseth came to WSU in 1969 he said a new type of barley had just been released for use. It produced high yields in growing but did nothing else, so farmers did not want it. Steptoe produced 70 percent of total barley in the Northwest and nobody wanted it, Froseth said. Testing the product can be done in many different ways, Froseth said.