Barley is one of the seeds cultivated by Zeniff’s people. They began to till the ground with “seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley,” along with neas, sheum, and fruit seeds (Mosiah 9:9).
Under Lamanite rule, the people surrendered “one half of our corn, and our barley, and even all our grain of every kind” as tribute (Mosiah 7:22).
Barley also served in the Nephite system of value. A senum of silver or senine of gold equaled “a measure of barley,” while “a shiblon for half a measure of barley” expressed a smaller amount (Alma 11:7; Alma 11:15).