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Barley – Chapter 6
Official Grain Grading Guide

Classes, types and varieties

Classes

Barley is divided into three classes based on end use, malting, hulless and general purpose.

Malting

Malting barley is a dual purpose barley. If production cannot be sold at a premium for malting and brewing, then it is used for livestock feed. Only about 20 percent of malting barley production is actually selected for malting each year. The other 80 percent is used domestically as livestock feed or exported as feed barley. Registered feed barley is not suitable for malting and brewing, and can be used only for livestock feed.

There is one malting grade Select. Barley selected for malting that does not qualify for this grade is graded Barley, Sample Select CW/CE, Two-row/Six-row Account “Factor”.

Hulless

Hulless barley is used primarily for animal feed, mostly for swine, but it is also marketed for human consumption. Hulless varieties have a very loose hull which is usually removed during harvesting.

There are two hulless grades, Select and Standard. Hulless barley not selectedmay be assigned only to the Standard grade.

General purpose

General purpose grades include barley not selected for malting.

Types

Two-row barley

A head of two-row barley contains two rows of kernels along its length.

Six-row barley

A head of six-row barley contain six rows of kernels along its length, in two groups of three kernels each.

Barley of other types

In two-row barley, barley of other types is any six-row variety. In six-row barley, barley of other types is any two-row variety.