10-22 IAT Barley No. One
Idaho, number one in our hearts and number one in barley.
A recent look at the numbers shows that Idaho has regained its status as the number one Barley state. I called Kelly Olson, administrator for the Idaho Barley commission. “Kelly, to what do we owe the distinction of being the number one barley producing state? Is it entirely do to the efforts of their fine administrator? (Laughter) I would like to think that there was some small contribution over my many years. Sure. No, it is a culmination of so many factors and so many years of hard work. We have consistently been second largest producer for decades but there is always the opportunity to move into first place. That would be due to good progress and growth here in our state, that is the case, but also some failures or weaknesses in North Dakota which has for decades been the largest barley producing state. We were first in production in 2011 and that was in part due to some catastrophic failures in North Dakota. They saw a repeat of that this year with a lot lower planted acres, down 30%. But hard work and dedication in Idaho has led to our new status.
