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Crop Review

Barley Production by State

The US produces 1.3B bu of barley across 11 states and 2.4M acres. Idaho leads with 36.1% of production.

Reviewed by CropReview Editorial Team · Updated

1.3B bu

Total Production

2.4M acres

Total Acreage

11

Producing States

What the Barley Data Shows

USDA NASS reports 1.3B bu of barley produced across 11 states on 2.4M acres, placing it among the major U.S. row crops by volume.

Idaho is the leading barley state, supplying 36.1% of tracked production (469.3M bu), well ahead of any other single state.

The top three states — Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota — together produce 84% of U.S. barley, so weather and planting decisions in just three states set the national supply.

Montana follows in second at 27.0% (351.3M bu), 9.1 points behind Idaho.

Below the leaders, the rankings run to California, the 11th tracked barley state at 8.5M bu (0.7% of the U.S. total); the second-largest producer, Montana, contributes 27.0%.

Top Barley Producing States

#StateProductionAcreage% of US Total
1Idaho469.3M bu550K acres36.1%
2Montana351.3M bu845K acres27.0%
3North Dakota269.9M bu695K acres20.8%
4Colorado52.0M bu44K acres4.0%
5Wyoming46.1M bu64K acres3.5%
6Washington36.3M bu67K acres2.8%
7Minnesota27.4M bu46K acres2.1%
8Arizona18.3M bu18K acres1.4%
9Pennsylvania11.7M bu30K acres0.9%
10Utah8.7M bu14K acres0.7%
11California8.5M bu19K acres0.7%

Other Crops

Frequently Asked Questions

Idaho is the top barley producer, accounting for 36.1% of US production with 469.3M bu.

The US produces 1.3B bu of barley across 2.4M acres in 11 states.

Sources: USDA NASS

Production data from USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service surveys.

Source: USDA NASS Quick Stats, 2026.