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 have a yield advantage over those planted later.  In other words, soybeans planted on 1 June after barley harvest will typically out-yield those planted 15 June 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 higher starch per acre.  More research must be conducted to evaluate the value of barley for farmers and ethanol producers.