US, ID: Idaho could become the nation’s top barley producer this year

Idaho could become the nation's top barley producer this year if growers follow through with an expected increase in plantings and they have a good growing season, Capital Press reported on April, 8.

Farmers in Idaho are expected to plant 500,000 acres of barley this year, a 2 percent increase from 2010, according to the USDA planting intentions report released March 31.

With average yields, that will probably be enough to surpass North Dakota, historically the nation's top barley producer, industry leaders said.

"All expectations are that Idaho will become the largest barley producer in the nation this year," said Scott Brown, a dry land grain farmer from Soda Springs, Idaho, who is scheduled to become president of the National Barley Growers Association in July.

Idaho farmers produced 43.2 million bushels of barley last year, just barely behind North Dakota's 43.5 million bushels.

North Dakota growers are expected to reduce barley plantings by 4 percent this year to 690,000 acres, according to the USDA report.

With good prices and some improved crop insurance options this year, the outlook for barley is bright, Brown said.

"I'm pretty optimistic," he said.

The USDA's Risk Management Agency recently approved revenue insurance guarantees for barley.

The new option, which came after years of prodding from the national barley group and the Idaho Barley Commission, makes federal crop insurance for barley more comparable with what's available for wheat and other grains, Brown said.

"We have always felt that barley was at a competitive disadvantage," he said.

Malt barley contracts are also attractively priced this year, as beer makers and malting companies have been forced to compete for acres with other crops.

Recent malting contracts have been available in Idaho for $12 to $13 per hundredweight.

Many growers may have contracted at slightly lower price levels last fall, but still well above the $7 to $8 that most received for their 2010 crop.

"Malt contracts are pretty favorable," said Ron Elkin, a farmer from Buhl, Idaho, and a member of the Idaho Barley Commission. "Prices are better than a year ago for sure."

Elkin said he has a bullish long-term outlook for the Idaho barley industry.

As farmers in the Upper Plains continue to reduce their barley acreage, it leaves the door open for Western growers to pick up the slack.

"North Dakota has always been a big producer of malt barley, but they have been going to corn and soybeans and other crops," Elkin said. "It seems that we are getting a bigger share of the barley crop."

Some problems could dampen enthusiasm for barley, Elkin said.

If input costs continue to climb, it will take some of the luster off the good prices, and demand for beer still hasn't rebounded from its pre-recession levels.

"If we can just get the economy back up and running and everybody drinking beer again we should be in good shape," he said.

08 April, 2011