USA, WA: Barley harvest up in Washington this year

As grains go, barley is often overlooked compared with wheat and corn, though not by beer drinkers. Nationally, 51 percent of the 221 mln bushels of barley grown is used for animal feed, while 44 percent is used for malt production, which primarily goes to beer production. Another 3 percent is grown for seed, and 2 percent is used in food products, Tri-City Herald reported on September, 27.

In Washington, about 90 percent of the barley is used for animal feed, said Tom Zwainz, chairman of the Washington Grain Commission. He said Idaho and Montana are more focused on growing malt varieties and said the region between eastern Idaho and central Montana is where many malt houses are located.

This has been a bumper year for Washington barley, Mary Palmer Sullivan, program director for the Washington Grain Alliance, said, with 150,000 acres harvested. That is up from 115,000 in 2011 and 81,000 in 2010. But it is a far cry from the 1.2 mln acres harvested in the state in 1985, said Zwainz, who grows 550 acres near Reardan in Lincoln County.

He said one cause for the huge drop in barley acreage is the price of wheat, which has been so favorable. Compounding that, a herbicide used on wheat to control weeds is incompatible with barley, which means barley cannot be rotated on the same land.

"That's caused a dramatic reduction in barley acres," Zwainz said.

He added that researchers are working on a solution to the herbicide problem that should help bolster the barley industry.

North Dakota is the nation's top grower of barley. Also ahead of Washington are Montana and Idaho, and Washington grows 4.9 percent of the nation's barley.

Spring barley is the predominant crop, he said, and it is planted between late March and early May. Barley harvest begins after winter wheat is brought in, typically around the middle of August, he said, though a wet spring can push harvest into September.

28 September, 2012