Barley

Barley is a winter annual grass crop that is very similar to wheat, but often yields more bushels per acre. Harvest time for barley is usually a couple weeks earlier than wheat, which is advantageous to farmers double-cropping? their winter grass crop with soybeans. This is because earlier planted soybeans usually have a yield advantage over those planted later. In other words, soybeans planted on June 1 after a barley harvest will typically out-yield those planted June 15 after wheat harvest.

The high starch content of barley makes it an interesting renewable energy crop for fermentation into ethanol.

Hulless barley?, a genetic variation of regular barley, has the potential to produce more starch per acre, however more research must be conducted to evaluate the value of barley for farmers and ethanol producers.