I have never seen a Barley field, they just don't grow it here where I am. The other day I was at the feed store and a guy said he puts out cracked barley instead of corn. He told me it works better than corn and has had deer tear the ground up where he puts it down. I can't say for sure, just going off of what was said to me. Maybe they like the actual Barley and not the plant. That's about all I have, which is really no help to you.[&:]