Barley Straw

[jim9251]

Producers Co-Op carries it. I don't need it anymore but saw my 5 year old thread rise from the ashes.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by Lugnuts

???? OHIO ???? Coors contracts with barley farmers in the San Luis Valley for the barley harvest. The farmers always have barley straw bales for sale to the straw bale home builders and others who need it for erosion control, silage, etc,etc

You beat me to it on the Coors suggestion Lugnuts. Probably the best source. Barley was a common crop on the Eastern Colorado farms when I was growing up in the 1950s. It is a great feed for livestock when mixed with Molasses and other things to make it taste better to animals. Coors was paying premium prices for their special Bavarian Barley grown under contract. IIRC the straw from their special Bavarian type Barley was long and made great straw. I don't know if they have developed strains with shorter straw similar to what has happened to Wheat or not. In the 1950s the typical varieties of wheat might be four feet high. Because of the damage caused by the wind conditions on the Eastern Plains shorter varieties of Wheat have been developed with a significant increase in yields. I will always remember the sight of thousands of acres of almost ripe golden wheat fields and the waves they created in the blowing wind. I think of that image every time I listen to the Broadway tune from OKLAHOMA. Progress does change things.