Barley Economics Based on Beer Consumption

A majority of barley grown in the US has been grown for malt and National Barley Association President, Chris Engelstad cites the fact that barley prices are dependent on the malt and brewing industry.

“I think the trend is beer sales are dipping a little bit, you know, but I think there's still steady consumption of beer I don't think it's a drastic change. So I know there's an enemy becoming better growers of barley so our yields have kind of stabilized and quality stabilized. So they need a quality consistent product. So that's the biggest thing is they don't they don't have as many acres growing, but I think our acceptance rates into their molting programs are a lot higher than they ever used to be.”

And Engelstad points out that US barley growers also grow some barley for feed with the pet food industry, the biggest growing market for the commodity.

“Take the same barley for the most part, we do the same not pretty much the same practices growing it, it just goes a little bit different avenue and they might grind it didn't go into your like your pellets for like the dog food does that

“Here are a few other barley and here are a few other barley facts for you. A majority of barley produced in the United States is dryland it is planted at the end of April or beginning of May and as combine at the end of July or early August. Most of the barley grown in the US has grown in the North Central and Northwestern regions. Last year, Idaho was a leading US state in terms of barley production, producing 59.94 million bushels of barley.