United States: Hailstorm dispossesses MillerCoors of 10%, Anheuser-Busch of 15% of its Colorado malting barley

A severe hailstorm in south central Colorado earlier this month wiped out part of the barley crop meant for MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch, Rocky Mountain News published on August 25.

According to a MillerCoors spokesman, the August 16 storm that battered the San Luis Valley would not affect its beer production or prices. An Anheuser-Busch spokesman declined to comment beyond a written statement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency stated that the storm caused an estimated $42.4 million in crop damage in the worst-hit areas of Saguache County.

Both MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch buy two-row barley from farmers under contract in the San Luis Valley.

"We lost 10 percent of our crop, which represents about 3 percent of our total overall crop," said MillerCoors spokesman Julian Green.

"We're still assessing the situation," added Green. "But the loss in Center, Colo., will not affect our beer production. And the crops are looking very good everywhere else."

MillerCoors buys malting barley from hundreds of growers in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

Anheuser-Busch said the storm damaged about 15 percent of the barley it buys from growers in the San Luis Valley.

"Area growers have begun harvesting the unaffected crops, and we are very encouraged by the quality of the barley in this year's harvest," Richard Redd, region manager for Busch Agricultural Resources Inc., said.

An Anheuser-Busch spokesman declined to say what, if any, impact the damage might cause.

Anheuser-Busch buys barley from growers in Colorado, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.

26 August, 2008