Source: Lucille Sherma, WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS, 10/19/19


Most Americans probably don’t think about barley when they crack open a cold one. But their thirst for beer is about the only reason the once abundant crop hasn’t disappeared. American farmers have grown barley for centuries, mostly for livestock feed but also for human consumption and for malt in beer. Yet a steep decline in its use for feed drove annual production down by 75 percent from where it was more than three decades ago.

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