Research money has been dedicated to growing better barley for beer in Kansas, which was the last state to do away with prohibition.

The Wichita Eagle  reports that the Brewers Association awarded a group of brewers, researchers and agricultural experts a $35,000 grant to develop winter malting barley to be grown and harvested in the Great Plains.

The project is eligible to receive annual funding for five years, depending on research progress.

Kansas is mostly known as a wheat-growing state, and much of its barley is grown as a high-protein grain for livestock feed. Barley grown for beer must be a lower-protein grain.

Kansas prohibited alcohol from 1881 to 1948. It continued to prohibit liquor by the drink in bars and restaurants until 1986.