The barley comes in two main types, six-row grain and two-row barley, and can be grown both as an autumn and spring sown crop. However, the most common form of barley is spring-sown two-row barley. 
 
Today, barley is grown on 14 percent of the arable area in Sweden, mainly in the north but also in the rest of the country, and accounts for about 30 percent of the total grain harvest (calculated on the average for barley and the total harvest over the past five years in Sweden).

Brief history

Along with wheat, barley is our oldest cultivated plant, wild varieties were found throughout the area of the Middle East called the Fertile Crescent. As with cultivated wheat, attempts were made to develop wild varieties of barley within a few hundred years into varieties that were adapted for cultivation.
 
In the Nordic countries, barley has long been the dominant crop and was used both for animal feed and as a raw material for porridge, bread and various forms of fermented beverages. In recent centuries, the cultivation of barley has declined, first due to an increase in the cultivation of oats and more recently due to the increase in wheat cultivation. 

Did you know?

Palt, kams, klabbe, lollipop, klöbba and klimpen – dear child has many names. Pitepalten, part of the traditional Swedish home cooking, is also available in a number of different varieties. However, almost all recipes include barley flour as an important ingredient!