Barley Economics

“Last summer we had a couple of economists approach the commission.  They were working on a study on the value of beer to Idaho, and they thought they should include barley since barley is the major ingredient for malt for beer, and we agreed that we would like to know more about barleys economic contributions to the state of Idaho,” said Laura Wilder, Executive Director of the Idaho Barley Commission.

The study by Timothy Nadreau and Steven Peterson, economists with ties to University of Idaho and Washington State University, was funded by the Idaho Barley Commission. It shows the state’s barley industry contributes $274 million annually to Idaho’s total gross state product, based on the averages from the past 10 years.

The study also shows the state’s barley industry supports 2,698 jobs in Idaho and is responsible for an average of $551 million in total sales each year in Idaho. Last year those numbers we down due to the drought, but Idaho was still the nation’s top barley producer.