Oats, Barley, and Wheat:
Great Reads and Web Viewing

Find a fascinating fact about oats, barley, or wheat—or even an intriguing recipe—in these informative books, websites, and other sources selected by reference librarian Rebecca Mazur at ARS’s National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, Maryland:

Barley for Food and Health, by R.K. and C.W. Newman (2008).
Tackle the included recipes for Turkish Barley-Yoghurt Soup, Swedish Barley Sausage, or Danish Pancakes and you’ll be appropriately fueled up for perusing this overview on research and development of new, barley-based foods—and much more—presented from a food-maker and food-science perspective.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search
Want to know exactly what’s inside your breakfast oatmeal? Check out this comprehensive database, generally regarded as the nation’s premier analysis of the calories, vitamins, minerals, and other components in familiar foods.

The Small Grains Field Guide, edited by J.J. Wiersma and J.K. Ransom (2005).
Anyone thinking about growing oats, barley, or wheat will want to pick up this 158-page handbook of practical, reliable information from university Extension Service experts in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Barley Science: Recent Advances from Molecular Biology to Agronomy of Yield and Quality, by G.A. Slafer et al. (2002).
A useful anthology of articles about everything from stopping unwanted sprouting of barley kernels before harvest to using wild barleys as a source of genes for superior plants of tomorrow.

Proceedings, 8th International Oat Conference (2008)
tinyurl.com/oatconf
Leading oat researchers worldwide offer abstracts, posters, and PowerPoint presentations in this preliminary, online compilation from the “Healthy Foods and Healthy Lives” oat conference, a highly regarded forum.

GrainGenes
wheat.pw.usda.gov/GG2/index.shtml
This ARS-curated website offers an enlightening window on the world of those who study the genomes of oats, barley, wheat, and rye, and the wild relatives of these great little grains.

For an industry view, browse this quartet of informative, easy-to-navigate websites:
National Barley Foods Council, barleyfoods.org
National Barley Growers Association, idahobarley.org/nbga
North American Millers’ Association, namamillers.org
U.S. Grains Council, grains.org.

"Oats, Barley, and Wheat: Great Reads and Web Viewing" was published in the February 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.