• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

U.S. barley goes from feed grain crop to high value malting staple

November 26, 2013Keith Gribbins

malted_barley_background
The malted barley pictured above is now a high value food crop. As barley acreage has declined, so has malted barley’s value increased.

Barley has gone from being a major feed grain to a specialty food crop in the last 25 years. While there are still a few areas, primarily corn deficient regions, in the United States that utilize barley for livestock, barley’s major use is for malting — according to a recent report by the American Malting Barley Association. This malt makes its way into many of the cereals, crackers and baked goods that we eat and of course, the beer and other malt beverages that we drink. This shift to a higher value food crop has occurred as acreage has declined and barley’s value has increased.

The acreage decline began in 1985 when barley was seeded on 13.2 million acres. It is currently averaging (2009-2013) about 3.2 million acres. This decline has resulted in significant shifts in barley production and procurement. In the mid-1980s, the brewers, distillers and food companies using malted barley were able to select from a large pool of barley grown in the northern plains and intermountain west. Most of this barley was produced on the open market with some of irrigated acreage being contracted by end-users. As cropping patterns began to change and the fuel ethanol industry began generating millions of tons of dried distillers grains, the market for feed barley declined. Barley acreage declined and the large pool of malting barley was dramatically reduced.

The American Malting Barley Association, a trade association of 53 brewing, malting and distilling companies, estimates that in the 1986, the top six malting barley states produced over 280 million bushels of malting barley, of which, approximately 130 million bushels were selected for malting. By 2012, these same six states only produced 140 million bushels of malting barley. Half of that was produced 26 years earlier. End-users must now select the roughly 115 million bushels they need from this much smaller pool and now contract nearly all of the malting barley acreage to ensure an adequate supply.

Barley has become a specialty crop with nearly 60 percent going for malting and the remaining going to food, feed, seed and exports. Malting barley remains a very profitable crop, but it often takes a little extra effort to meet quality specifications when the weather does not cooperate. With a tight supply, the industry has worked closely with growers to maintain high selection rates. The American Malting Barley Association cites Brian Lacey, who lives in west central Minnesota and still produces a good crop of malting barley long after his neighbors have moved on to other crops. He notes that top dressing some nitrogen after planting, keeping an eye on diseases and straight combing his barley has helped keep his selection rates high. Learn more by visiting this great association right here.

malted barley cbb crop
American Malting Barley Association pushes new varieties, notes seven barley lines with sufficient malting quality for commercial trials
malted barley
The American Malting Barley Association shares its recommended malting barley varieties for 2018
malted barley
U.S. malting barley industry moving towards two-row varieties
malted barley
Why increasing the selection rate of malting barley is so important

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • BarTrack launches The Smart Draft System, teasing real-time beverage quality analytics and automated inventory management
  • On-premise report: 2023 Thanksgiving eve insights from BeerBoard
  • Lawson’s Finest Liquids donates $76,000 in celebration of GivingTuesday
  • Enjoy this 30-second timelapse of Luminosa Hops growing in Oregon

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • BarTrack Smart Draft SystemBarTrack launches The Smart Draft System, teasing real-time beverage quality analytics and automated inventory management
    November 28, 2023
  • Hand of bartender pouring a large lager beer in tapOn-premise report: 2023 Thanksgiving eve insights from BeerBoard
    November 28, 2023
  • Fifty West Brewing ice skating rink family skating cbb cropPhotos! Fifty West Brewing launches upgraded ice rink in Cincinnati with a curling league
    November 27, 2023
  • nitro stout lawsons finestLawson’s Finest cans its Nitro Stout and other beers to know this week from SweetWater, Brooklyn Brewery and more
    November 16, 2023
  • DARKNESS-DAY-2023 guy breathing fireSurly Brewing’s Darkness Day was pretty metal (just watch this video)
    November 16, 2023
  • big-grove-brewery-frontCheers to 10 Years: How Big Grove Brewery has grown the Iowa craft beer scene
    November 15, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC