With $100M in Crop Losses USDA Grants Eight Idaho Counties Disaster Status

October 20, 2014

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted disaster area status to eight counties in central and eastern Idaho, clearing the way for farms to receive low-interest loans for operating costs.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack made the declaration for Bonneville, Jefferson, Bingham, Clark, Minidoka, Blaine, Cassia and Power counties earlier this month. Fourteen other neighboring counties have already received disaster status.

Bonneville County Farm Bureau President Stephanie Mickelsen said that for some, the loans will be necessary to keep a farm in business until next year. Farms across much of southern and eastern Idaho suffered when ill-timed storms hit the region, causing grain to sprout before it could be cut and causing some harvested crops to mold before they could be stored.

Too much rain in recent months has caused an estimated $100 million in damages to barley crops in Idaho.

The wet weather ruined an estimated 15 million to 20 million bushels of barley, out of 48 million bushels of barley, said Kelly Olson, administrator for the Idaho Barley Commission.

The grain shortage will likely affect the brewing industry as well. Idaho produces more barley than any other state, with the bulk going to brewing beer. Some of the barley is sold to local craft brewers, but much of it goes to brewing giants such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, which processes 336,000 tons of malted grain each year at its Idaho Falls plant.

In August and September, nearly 5 inches of rain was recorded at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. That rain caused sprout damage on barley fields throughout eastern and southern Idaho and wiped out entire crops.

Paul Patterson, an agricultural economist in Idaho Falls with the University of Idaho Extension office, said the damages to eastern Idaho’s barley crop are estimated from $60 million to $64 million.

Topics Profit Loss Agribusiness

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