Barley and drought
Dry Weather Has Created Challenges for Idaho Barley Growers
Something that has been dominating the news lately is that the West is slowly but surely getting drier and warmer. And by drier, I mean drought conditions. It’s been a rough start to the season for barley growers in the Gem State. Idaho Barley Commission’s Wes Hubbard says it started out very similar to 2020, but this spring has been a disappointment.
“It seems like we’re really dry right now. What I’m hearing, I think we’re OK as long as we get some rain soon but I’m hearing the same story all over the place. We really need rain and if we don’t get it, we’ll be in trouble.”
Hubbard says the planting conditions were great at the start of the season, but the growing conditions have not been as strong. He noted that prices are close to last year's, just a little bit down, but Hubbard said there’s potential with corn prices going up.
“When it comes to feed grains corn is king, but there’s got to be some value out there if you’re growing barley for feed. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a barley market for feed.”
Hubbard says that there has been indications that feed barley prices could be at least $200 or more per ton.
