As beer sales continue to decline, demand for barley continues to decrease. The number of acres planted in the U.S. this year is reportedly down by 22% compared to last year.
Along with few acres, prices have also decreased, with U.S. malt barley prices at about $5 per bushel compared to $7 last year.
Overall beer consumption in the U.S. is at its lowest level since the 1970s according to data from the Brewers Association (BA).
To compound the downward trend in demand for barley is that may of the drink’s consumers are switching are not fermented with barley. Although some of the trending new drinks competing with beer such as hard seltzers and canned cocktails use malt barley, many do not, instead using fermented sugar, vodka or tequila to supply the alcohol.
Barley growers sell their crop for other uses than beer, but a large chuck of their customers are the malt houses that malt and sell barley to the brewing industry. “To lose one of your tools to make profit is huge. The farmers are absolutely concerned,” Frayne Olson, crop economist at North Dakota State University told Reuters. “The vast majority of what they grow goes into the malting industry, so beer consumption makes a big difference.”
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