Used as a major animal feed crop, barley is a cereal grain also used for malting and in health foods. As a member of the grass family Poaceae, it takes 1 to 3 days to germinate.
Half of the worlds production of barley is used as animal feed and a significant portion of the remainder is used as a key ingredient in beer and whiskey production.
When barley grains have their hulls still on they are called covered barley, but when the hull is removed, they are called hulled barley.