POWER — The next time you crack open a cold beer during the game, there’s a good chance it started in Montana. Barley fields across the state help supply breweries around the country and continent. Now, local growers are getting a big boost that could have a major impact on the industry.
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“Number one - it gives hope, and that’s what we all want,” said barley farmer Lee Dahlman. “We always want hope and we always want next year.”
Constellation Brands — the company behind Modelo and Corona — is now investing $100 million over the next five years to support farmers in Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota.
Barley is one of the main ingredients in the company's product, as they want to continue investing in farmers who grow it.
“If we can get an extra dollar a bushel and grow more acres, I think Montana producers would be very happy,” Dahlman said.
Dahlman has spent his whole life farming wheat and barley in Montana. He's a fourth-generation farmer, following in the footsteps of his father and great-grandfather, who first homesteaded the land more than a century ago.
“It's for love, it's kind of a legacy, it’s for family,” Dahlman explained. “I guess that's my thing more than anything.”
However, he says the barley industry has faced growing pressure in recent years.
“The supply, they didn't need as much supply because the demand wasn’t there, so barley has gone down,” he said.
According to Dahlman, who also serves on the Montana Wheat and Barley board, Montana once seeded more than two million acres of barley. Now, that number has dropped to around eight hundred thousand.
Farmers say rising fertilizer, diesel, and machinery costs — along with changing weather patterns — have made it harder to stay profitable.
What the money will be used for and how it will be distributed is still unknown, but Dahlman says Montana farmers aren’t giving up on barley anytime soon.
“Montana's committed to barley,” he stated. “We’re gonna grow it. They love to grow it, and we’re gonna continue to grow it.”
