A pair of recently released reports from the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) show that the domestic barley market is continuing to rebound from a brutal 2021 crop year.
AMBA’s barley crop report, based on the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service data, indicate that overall production was up almost 6 percent in 2023 over the previous year, increasing from 175 to 185 million bushels. Average yield also was up almost a bushel per acre.
Ashley McFarland, vice president and technical director at AMBA, says the numbers—which reflect data as of December 1 and will be slightly refined—show a strong trend of growers and maltsters continuing to replenish barley supplies. Farmers seeded 5 percent more acres in 2023, and they harvested 4 percent more, after seeing production dip 30 percent in 2021.