UK agricultural output price index: feed barley
UK agricultural output price index: feed barley stood at 119.04 in Jul 2026, according to GOV.UK official statistics. It is one of the indicators in the Agricultural prices table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Jan 2014 to Jul 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Agricultural prices table
| Indicator | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output price index | |||||||||||
| Barley, feed | 119.04 | 118.25 | 120.74 | 119.57 | 117.78 | 117.27 | 117.76 | 116.89 | 112.59 | 109.57 | |
| Barley, malting | 116.04 | 113.91 | 115.07 | 114.49 | 114.26 | 115.01 | 115.58 | 112.3 | 111.99 | 112.37 |
Understanding UK agricultural output price index: feed barley
Cereal grain valuation for animal feed tracks the average farmgate and merchant transaction returns received by grain growers across the United Kingdom for barley specifically destined for livestock consumption. This series excludes malting and brewing grade barley, isolating the lower-nitrogen feed specifications traded directly to compound feed manufacturers or farm mixing units. Straw values and secondary processing mark-ups are omitted to focus entirely on the raw grain commodity.
Seasonality plays a dominant role, with harvest pressure depressing valuations during late summer followed by storage-cost-driven increases across winter months. Revisions to early estimates occur as merchant returns and merchant intake data are reconciled against physical stocks. Analysts comparing this series with malting barley must recognise that feed barley pricing correlates more closely with global maize and wheat feed substitution dynamics.
Frequently asked questions
- Can feed barley be upgraded to malting quality after harvest?
- No, once harvested and classified by nitrogen content and grain hardness, feed barley remains restricted to livestock rations and industrial fermentation uses.
- Does this index capture on-farm grain usage between growers?
- The series measures traded market transactions rather than unpriced grain consumed on the same holding where it was harvested.
- Why does feed barley trade at a discount to milling wheat?
- Lower protein content and restricted suitability for human baking limit feed barley demand primarily to livestock diets, capping its relative market value.