The American Malting Barley Association released a report on 2011 grain production and the numbers are concerning.
Production is estimated at 155 million bushels, 14% below 2010, and the lowest since 1936.
Average yield per acre, at 69.2 bushels, is down 3.9 bushels from the previous year. Producers seeded 2.56 million acres in 2011, down 11 percent from last year. This is the lowest planted acreage on record. Harvested area, at 2.24 million acres, is also down 9 percent from 2010, and the lowest level since 1881.