Barley

Barley is a cereal crop (crops that are classified as grass or crops that belong to the grass family and are grown for their seeds) and it is the fourth most grown cereal crop in the world. Other cereal crops include rice, wheat, corn, millet, sorghum, oat and rye. The barley seed looks somewhat like wheat but it has a longer beard (the bristles that protect the kernel) and it is best described, like many of the other cereal crop seeds, as small, white and longish.

Barley originated or was first grown as a crop, in the Fertile Crescent (an area incorporating Mesopotamia and the Levant) and was domesticated approximately 10,000 years ago. It is the oldest domesticated cereal crop in the world.

Barley was initially used to make bread and porridge and later became a commodity that was bartered and traded. It was more popular in West Asia and North Africa than in Europe where it was generically referred to as corn which in ancient times also included other cereal crops like rice and maize.

The Russian Federation is the largest producer of Barley in the world accounting for 13.97% of global production. The Russian Federation is followed by Australia 9.16%, Germany 7.36%, France 7.15%, Ukraine 5.62%, Canada 5.35%, the United Kingdom 4.86%, Turkey 4.82%, Spain 3.93% and Denmark 2.71%.

Barley is a short season, early maturing crop. It takes between 60 to 70 days for the crop to mature i.e. just slightly over two months and from that perspective it has a good turnaround time. It is not a seasonal crop and can grow in both summer and winter, and it is regarded as both a summer and a winter crop.

Barley is the most highly adaptable cereal crop in the world and grows in climates that range from the sub-arctic (located between latitudes 50° to 70° north) where the summer high can reach up to 30° C or 86° F and where winter temperatures can drop to well below zero, to the subtropics (latitudes 35° to 66.5° north and south of the Equator) where the temperatures are normally above 10° C or 50° F.

The barley plant is particularly drought hardy. The ideal rainfall to obtain optimum yields is between 390 mm or 15.35 inches to 490 mm or 19.29 inches which is much lower than the average global rainfall.

The crop grows in almost all types of soil but the ideal soil for growing barley is soil that is between PH levels 6 to 7.5 or soil that is slightly acidic in content or neutral.

The use of fertilizers is important because barley needs a certain amount of nitrogen to yield optimum results. The nitrogen increases the protein quality in the grain and it is important for feeding barley or barley that is used to make food items but the nitrogen requirement is not that important for brewing barley or barley that is used to make alcoholic beverages.

Barley has good quantities of the vitamins Folate (a B vitamin), Choline (an essential nutrient) and vitamin A. It is rich in the minerals potassium, phosphorus and magnesium with decent amounts of calcium and selenium. It is also a reasonable source of vegetable protein.

Regular consumption of food made from either barley or barley flour helps improve digestion, reduces the risk of gallbladder complications, helps reduce cholesterol, and helps reduce the risk of heart disease.