Highland Specialty Grains is a small barley breeding company founded in 2013 by Dan McKay, Don Sloan, Bryce McKay, and Mike McKay. It’s a close-knit venture, with family and friends in all the principal roles at the company. More than our relationships though, we’re tied together by a common purpose: merging a long-standing tradition of agricultural excellence with innovative techniques that will bring barley to the forefront of twenty-first century agriculture.

In November of 2013, Highland acquired barley germplasm from WestBred (a subsidiary of Monsanto) in order to jump-start our entry into the barley breeding field. Equipped with varieties like Champion, Stockford, and BG-012, we’re honored to be a part of a long-standing tradition of successful innovation in Agriculture. With locations in Almira, Rosalia, and Moses Lake, WA, we’re based out of the Pacific Northwest, but don’t let that fool you–Mike McKay, our barley breeder, is planning and conducting trials, crosses, and observations in four states. We’re breeding barley for the western United States–and that’s pretty much all we’re doing. Our focus is consistent–all our efforts and investments are working in barley.