Choice of cereal and pulse species and varities

Summary

All the main cereal crops - wheat, barley and oats, triticale, rye and spelt - can be grown organically in the UK. Until recently, the most important organic cereals were wheat and oats, with premiums paid for samples which reached milling quality. In the last year or two, more livestock farmers than arable farmers have converted to organic production so that feed grain has been in short supply, and the range of cereals grown organically has increased. New markets have also developed. Malted organic barley has been used for some time to produce beer, and now barley malt and wheat have been processed into organic whisky.