Its something that I've always wanted to do. Not neccesarily grow my own barley (dont have any land) but to malt my own. I got a free 10lb of 2 row from a farmer I worked for, and when I asked him how much he usually sold a 50lb sack for, he replied $3.
Can you imagine how cheap it would be to brew beer if your grew your own hops, malted your own barley, and washed yeast. You would be looking at like $5 for a 5 gallon batch. Not only the cost, but being able to say you made the beer from pretty much scratch.
Malting is a complicated process though, and real finicky to get right. It would definitely not be worth it if you are short on time.