Barley is Australia's second largest grain crop.

Barley overview

CSIRO is developing new varieties of barley and improving identification techniques.

27 April 2007 | Updated 14 October 2011

New barley for better health
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Barley is Australia's second largest grain crop, grown mostly for animal feed. It is also used as a food for humans and to make malt used to brew beer.

Australian exports account for approximately 18 per cent of world barley trade.

New barley for healthy foods

CSIRO has developed a new variety of barley, BARLEYmax™, with health benefits for consumers.

Bred using conventional techniques, BARLEYmax™ is high in resistant starch, which can help maintain bowel health, and has one of the highest levels of dietary fibre of any whole grain.

BARLEYmax™ can also be used to produce foods with a low glycaemic index, which can be useful in managing diabetes.

Whole grain foods made with BARLEYmax™ have very high fibre levels and taste good too.