Supplement to the Powell Tribune ■ Thursday, August 10, 2017
Oscar Meza, who works for Rodriguez Farms, preps a John Deere fleet of harvesters for cutting in a field just north of Rodriguez Farms headquarters on Road 16 on Friday morning. Tribune photo by Toby Bonner
Tribune photo by Carla Wensky
GROWTH IN CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY FLATTENS
Tribune photo by Carla Wensky
MALT BARLEY CROP
‘Really good,’ but area acreage cut this year BY DAVE BONNER Tribune Publisher
T
he spike in U.S. beer consumption fueled by the rise of the craft beer industry has hit at least a temporary lull. And it is being felt by the malt bar-
ley growers of the Shoshone Valley. Simple economics led to a 2017 reduction in acres under contract to Briess Malt and Ingredients Co. in this area, said Rick Redd, manager of the Briess malt barley receiving station and storage facilities west of Ralston.
Redd could not reveal the number of acres under contract in 2017, saying only that “acreage has been reduced some.” The craft beer industry is the main focus of malt produced by Briess. The majority of barley grown for Briess is grown in this area and southern Mon-
tana, and its malt makes its way into beers under many labels. From its three plants in Wisconsin, “Briess services 85 percent of the craft breweries in the country,” Redd said, including local craft See Barley, Page 2
BA R L E Y H A RV E ST L E A D S O F F ‘ C AU T I O U S Y E A R ’ The 2017 malt barley crop looks exceptional as it matures in the area’s golden fields, so why does a Powell ag banker call it “a cautious year for agriculture?” In short: commodity prices. Whether it’s barley, sugar beets or beef, prices paid to producers have trended downward, says Greg
Borcher at First Bank of Wyoming. “It’s a cautious year,” said Borcher. “I don’t like to say it, but even with a good crop, it could be basically a break-even for the farmer.” He describes a situation where the margins have tightened for producers.
University of Wyoming professor remembered SEE PAGE 3
“It’s a cyclical business,” Borcher explained, “a little the like boom and bust cycle of the energy industry.” “When farmers don’t control price, the only control they have is with their input costs,” he said. — Dave Bonner
Busy beekeepers SEE PAGE 5
The global seed vault SEE PAGE 10