Malting Barley Alternative Markets
Cheryl Bilinski, Local Food Systems Specialist, Farm to School Lead
Harvest New York
As with many specialty grains, it is best to have a market for your crop before you grow it. The greatest opportunity for malting barley is to contact and contract with maltsters before planting. By doing this, specifications and quality requirements will be known.
Plan ahead for an alternative market for rejected barley. This can help minimize economic losses if the crop is rejected based on grain quality. Using barley as an animal feed as a portion of finishing rations for beef cattle is a good option as well as including it in a dairy cow ration -- barley is a comparable substitute for corn.
This flyer will provide information about market opportunities for rejected barley and potential buyers.
This project was supported and funded by NY Farm Viability Institute.
Malting Barley Alternative Markets flyer, March 2017 (pdf; 333KB)
Upcoming Events
Urban Farming from the Ground Up
August 10, 2026
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Bronx, NY
Join CCE Harvest NY Specialist Karen Guzman to turn a community center into an urban farm! This is an open volunteer event.Rochester Soil Health Day
September 1, 2026
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Rochester, NY
Join Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY, New York State Soil Health, and Foodlink for interactive activities focused on soil health and an opportunity to get your garden soil screened for lead (reservation required).IPM Field Day for Urban Growers
September 10, 2026
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Buffalo, NY
Join us for a hands-on field day exploring integrated pest management and season extension tools for urban growing spaces and the opportunity to build community with local growers!This event will focus on best practices for using row covers and rat mitigation. Check out our CCE demonstration trial using insect exclusion netting to manage swede midge, an invasive fly that causes damage to brassica crops. Explore how to identify rat activity, reduce attractants, and strengthen site management. Hear from local growers on how they manage pests with a focus on organic management and how they extend the season on their farms and gardens.