Teagasc Crop Report
Spring Barley Reference Guide
Spring Barley Reference Guide
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Spring Barley
Spring barley is Ireland's largest tillage crop. The 10 year average area of winter barley is 123,000 hectares, ranging from 97,000 ha in 2019 to 139,000 ha in 2024. This variation is influenced by autumn planting conditions and grain prices.
Ireland’s climate is ideally suited to growing high yields of spring barley and the average yield of 8.1t/ha in 2022 was the highest ever recorded yield.The 10-year average yield is 7.3 t/ha. In years with lower yields, poor crop establishment, summer drought and Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) the primary contributing factors.
Spring Barley is primarily used for feed production, with ~80% going to the livestock sector. A significant proportion, ~20%, is used for premium malting and roasting and this is expected to increase into the future. Growing malting barley has many similarities with feed spring barley but the quality parameters are more stringent.
The Teagasc Spring Barley Guide is available here
The Teagasc Spring Barley Guide is available here