Barley planted acres increased 64% from 2011's record low planted acreage, according to the Minnesota Field Office, USDA-NASS.

For the fifth year in a row, Lacey commands the majority of barley acres. Lacey accounts for 55% of the acres planted, with 63,500 acres. Robust ranks second with 20,700 acres, or 18% of the total. Tradition is third most planted with 10,600 acres, followed by Legacy with 3,700 acres.

Lacey remains Barley Growers' Favorite

Quest, a new variety introduced in 2010, accounts for more than 1% of barley planted for the first time, with 3,500 acres. Royal, Conlon, Rasmusson, and Drummond round out the list of varieties that have 1% or more of planted acres with 3,200 acres, 2,700 acres, 2,000 acres, and 1,200 acres, respectively. Excel, Haybet, and Stellar-ND each account for less than 1% of the total barley planted this year.

The majority of the barley planted, 69%, is in Minnesota's Northwest District, with 79,400 acres. The Central District followed with 12,700 acres, the West Central with 7,800 acres, and the Southeast with 6,400 acres. The remaining five districts categorized in "Other" have 7.6%, or 8,700 acres of the state's estimated 115,000 total acres.

Lacey is a six-row malting variety characterized by high yield, medium maturity, good lodging resistance, and medium kernel plumpness. The majority of the Lacey acreage is planted in the Northwest District with 52,600 acres, followed by the West Central District with 5,000 acres, and the Central District with 2,800 acres. The remaining districts are estimated at a total of 2,800 acres.

Robust, the second most planted barley variety in the state, is a six-row malting variety and is characterized by good kernel plumpness, medium yield and maturity, and medium lodging resistance. Robust is planted across the state with 9,900 acres in the Northwest District, 4,500 acres in the Central District, 3,100 acres in the Southeast District, and 1,200 acres in the West Central District. There is an estimated 2,000 acres of Robust planted in Other Districts.

Barley varietal information was provided by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Minnesota. Partial funding for this survey was provided by the American Malting Barley Association, Inc.

Source: Minnesota Field Office, USDA-NASS