Its wide distribution is the result of very wide genetic variation within the crop, with specific varieties adapted to specific environments. The origin of barley seems to have been the Nile Valley. It likes temperate climates, and survives best when growing seasons are cool and dry. In Tibet and Ethiopia, it is grown higher on the mountain slopes than other grains. After corn and sorghum, barley is the third largest feed grain crop produced in the United States.
Production is concentrated in the Northern Plains states and the Pacific northwest.
Over the last five years, between 3.65 and 4.45 million hectares of barley have been planted in the United States. Saudi Arabia, Japan and the republics of the Former Soviet Union are, respectively, the largest importers of barley. These three importers have accounted for an average of 60 percent of all barley exports over the last five years. The barley exported to the FSU and Saudi Arabia goes to those nations for feed. Japan imports barley for both feed and malt production.