Winter barley is an excellent winter annual in a double-crop system with soybean in the mid-Atlantic region. Soybean yields following barley are approximately 10 bu/ac higher than those following wheat. In Virginia, about 75,000 acres of soybean are planted after winter barley, which will produce 750,000 bushels more than those planted on the same number of acres after wheat. This increase in soybean production has a gross value of approximately $3.75 million at a $5 per bushel price on beans. Furthermore, production of two winter annual crops, barley and wheat, allows producers to extend the time available for both planting and harvesting of small grains and planting of soybeans by 30-50%, and also provides an alternate crop to reduce the buildup of crop-specific pathogens.

The mid-Atlantic region is well situated regarding demands for feed grains in that poultry and swine operations provide domestic demand and local export markets provide foreign demand. However, production of winter barley during the past few years has decreased mainly due to low market prices, even though the mid-Atlantic region is considered a feed grain deficient area. Barley producers need to receive at least $1.75 per bushel in order to cover production costs. In 1998, barley prices at harvest averaged $1.00 per bushel, while corn prices were $2.75 per bushel. If the feed value of barley is 80% that of corn, and is available when local corn is not available, the equitable price for barley should be $2.00-2.25 per bushel.

Therefore, the major challenge for winter barley production is the development of viable markets. Development of varieties possessing value-added traits such as lower crude fiber and higher metabolizable energy content as found in hull-less barley is one means of promoting barley use in both feed and food markets. Desirable agronomic traits include earliness of maturity, high grain volume weight, short plant stature, good straw strength, ease of threshing under humid conditions, and of course high yields.

From a breeding perspective, disease resistance is the most important criterion in development of winter barley varieties. This also is important from a production standpoint where inputs, such as fungicides, must be minimized in order to realize a profit. Warm, humid conditions in the mid-Atlantic region foster diseases and, therefore, make it necessary to develop barley varieties with resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus, powdery mildew, leaf rust, net blotch, spot blotch, Septoria, scald and, more recently, Fusarium head blight.