Production - Barley, like other cool season cereals (wheat, oat, and triticale) is a multi-purpose crop in Texas. The crop is used as winter pasture for cattle, as a silage crop for cattle and other animals, and as a feed grain crop. Barley is a minor crop in the state compared to wheat and oat, but is planted on more acres than triticale. During the 1990s, the acres of land planted to barley has been declining, but the proportion of those acres harvested for grain has been increasing, particularly in 1996 and 1997 (Table 1). The major barley varieties in Texas are TAMBAR 500 and Post 90.

Table 1. Acreage, yield, production, and value of barley in Texas from 1990 to 1997 (from the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service).

Year	Acres planted	Acres harvested for grain	Grain Yield (bu/acre)	Grain Production (bu)	Average price per bu (US$)	Grain Production value (US$)
1990	30,000	15,000	38	608,000	2.13	1,295,000
1991	30,000	10,000	32	320,000	2.00	840,000
1992	20,000	6,000	45	270,000	2.30	621,000
1993	20,000	7,000	44	308,000	2.50	770,000
1994	17,000	8,000	33	264,000	2.65	700,000
1995	15,000	7,000	46	322,000	2.80	902,000
1996	16,000	11,000	34	374,000	3.75	1,403,000
1997	15,000	10,000	40	400,000	2.65	1,060,000

Breeding and Research - Barley breeding for the state is centered at Dallas, with additional testing locations at Amarillo, Beaumont, Beeville, Chillicothe, Gainesville, Howe, McGregor, Overton, Prosper, Uvalde, and Wyndom. Breeding priorities are forage and grain yield, winterhardiness, straw strength, and pest resistance. Barley research focuses on the genetics of disease resistance and barley disease epidemiology. The most important barley disease in Texas continues to be barley yellow dwarf virus. After the widespread occurrence of barley stripe rust in Texas in 1992 and 1993, the disease has been absent from production fields.