11-1 IAN Barley

  As the correspondent in Idaho for the Ag Information network, I got competitive when I heard that North Dakota has regained its position as the top producer of malting barley in the country. Last year - due to a lot of prevented-plant acres and a poor crop - North Dakota slipped to third. This year - North Dakota accounted for about 28-percent of the nation's malting barley. Idaho produced 24-percent and Montana 19-percent. Scott Heisel - American Malting Barley Association Vice President and Technical Director - says the brewing industry needs a diverse supply of malting barley: “We cannot rely on just one particular area because if we have a real problem with preventative planting or if there is rain during harvest, the industry relies on a broad distribution of malting barley production. And there are certain varieties, even within a specific region, that do better in one area than another. So certain members of our membership like certain varieties so we rely on different areas to produce some of those very specific varieties.” Heisel says North Dakota may be best suited for production of six-row malting barley varieties - while Idaho may be best for varieties that do well under irrigation.