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Agricultural Marketing Resource Center

Barley


Overview

Barley is a short-season, early maturing crop. It is produced in a variety of climates and in both irrigated and dryland production areas. In fact, barley is the third largest feed grain crop produced in the United States, after corn and sorghum.

The 2009 barley crop yielded 227.3 million bushels, down from last year. This year's average price of $4.40 per bushel declined from last year's record price of $5.37. As a result, the U.S. crop was valued at $917.5 million.

North Dakota remained the leading producer. The state harvested 79.1 million bushels of barley, which was valued at $280.8 million. Other top producing states are (in order): Idaho, Montana and Colorado.  (NASS 2010)  August 2010 ... Barley


Marketing

  • Barley, U.S. Grains Council - A private, nonprofit corporation that develops export markets for barley as well as for sorghum and corn.
  • Barley, Crop Production Annual Summary, National Ag Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, 2010.
  • Barley, Statistics by Subject, NASS, USDA.
  • Barley, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia - This organization has developed a new variety of barley that has one of the highest levels of dietary fiber of any whole grain.
  • Crop Values Annual Summary, NASS, USDA, 2010.
  • National Grain Reports, Ag Marketing Service, USDA - National report on weekly markets.
  • Idaho Barley Commission
  • National Barley Foods Council
  • Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA, 2009.
     

Processing/Manufacturing

Businesses/Case Studies

  • Barley, The New American Farmer Profiles, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA - In this online series, five producers explain how they grow barley in their region of the country.
  • Vertical Coordination in the Malting Barley Industry: A ‘Silver Bullet’ For Coors?, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Kansas State University, 2004 - Looks at the traditional production contracts held by Coors for its barley production and the future of the brewing industry.


Links checked May 2009.

 

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