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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #241898
Title: Barley Production in North America (Sub Chapter)

Author
item SCHILLINGER, WILLIAM - Washington State University
item MCKENZIE, ROSS - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item Tanaka, Donald

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/9/2009
Publication Date: 1/3/2011
Citation: Schillinger, W.F., Mckenzie, R.H., Tanaka, D.L. 2011. Barley Production in North America. pages 241-251. IN: Barley: Production, Improvement, and Uses. Steven E. Ullrich (Ed.). World Agriculture Series. Wiley-Blackwell. A. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Interpretive Summary: Most of the barley produced in North America comes from Canada (provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) and northern-tier U.S. states (North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Minnesota). Over the past ten years, barley was produced on 3.92 million hectares per year in Canada and 1.73 million hectares per year in the U.S. Since the peak in the mid-1980’s, barley hectarage in the U.S. has declined five-fold due to conversion of land to perennial grass and shrubs, difficulty making malt-grade quality in rainfed areas, and low commodity price. No-till along with dynamic cropping systems provides a sustainable approach to barley production. A diversity of crops in cropping systems, particularly legumes and other broadleaf crops, greatly improves barley yields. The future of barley production in North America is promising given current global status of cereal grains. Advances in cultural practices along with better crop genetics for cold-hardy cultivars could result in greater use of winter barley for food, feed, and fuel.

Technical Abstract: Barley is a major cereal crop produced in Canada, the U.S. Northern Great Plains (NGP) and the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW). Purpose of this sub-chapter of the book is to discuss the cropping systems and cultural practices used in barley production for these regions. Barley is a cool-season crop that matures early and has some tolerance to drought and saline soils. Conservation-tillage and no-till barley cropping systems have been used extensively throughout the NGP and PNW. Crop sequences that usually result in the lowest barley yield are when barley is seeded on its own crop residue. Factors associated with these lower yields are lack of crop diversity and plant diseases associated with monoculture barley. Barley fits well into a dynamic cropping system with some of the best barley yields on legume residues. Barley crop residues improve broadleaf crop yields, especially for deep-rooted and high-water-using crops such as sunflower and safflower. Careful attention to nutrient management, diseases, weeds, and insects are required to attain high barley yields that meet the malting industry requirements. Future demand for barley will increase with increased ethanol production and increased awareness of barley in a healthy diet to lower cholesterol and glycemic index due to high grain soluble fiber content.