Barley – the 4th most popular grain in the world!

We’d like to say thank you and acknowledge this photo sent to us from one of our distributors (West United States).   The barley plants featured in this photo averaged 10-12 tillers per plant where as the average is 4-5 per plant.

How important is barley to civilization? Aside from its use as food, barley is the root of the English measurement system. In 1324 Edward II of England standardized the inch as equal to “three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end lengthwise.” The foot, the yard, the mile, and all other English measurements followed on.

While inches and feet have given way to centimeters and meters in most of the world, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is still central to the world’s food supply. In fact, it’s the world’s fourth most important cereal crop after wheat, rice, and corn.

Barley is highest in fiber of all the whole grains, with common varieties clocking in at about 17% fiber, and some, such as the variety called Prowashonupana barley (marketed by Ardent Mills as Sustagrain), having up to 30% fiber! (For comparison, brown rice contains 3.5% fiber, corn about 7%, oats 10% and wheat about 12%.) While the fiber in most grains is concentrated largely in the outer bran layer, barley’s fiber is found throughout the whole grain, which may account for its extraordinarily high levels.

Barley information provided by http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/easy-ways-enjoy-whole-grains/grain-month-calendar/barley-%E2%80%93-february-grain-month