Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one of the oldest cultivated grains, first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 10,000 years ago. It was a dietary staple in ancient civilisations across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia before being largely displaced by wheat and rice in modern diets.
Today, barley’s biggest uses are as animal feed and as the key grain in brewing and distilling — it provides the fermentable sugars for beer and many whiskies. As a food grain, it appears in soups, stews, salads, and as pearl barley (where the outer hull and bran are polished off). Whole-grain or “pot” barley retains more of the bran.
Australia is one of the world’s major barley producers and exporters. The grain is grown across the southern cropping belt, from Western Australia through South Australia, Victoria, and southern New South Wales. A significant portion of Australia’s barley crop is exported, particularly to markets in Asia and the Middle East.
How it's produced
Barley is a broadacre cereal crop sown in autumn and harvested in late spring or summer across Australia’s grain belt. It is a relatively hardy crop that tolerates poorer soils and drier conditions better than wheat, making it a common choice for marginal cropping land and as a rotation crop to break disease cycles.
Farmers prepare paddocks, sow seed with a drill, and manage the crop with fertiliser and herbicide applications during the growing season. At harvest, the grain is combined (cut and threshed in one pass), dried if necessary, and stored in silos. Barley destined for malting (brewing) must meet strict quality specifications for protein content and germination rates, while feed-grade barley has more relaxed standards.
What it costs the planet (per kilo)
* Based on what it takes to produce, from farm to factory gate.
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