The Stromberger’s history as farmers stretches back four generations in Colorado. Four years ago the family took up a stake in the Willwood area where their barley crop is nearing harvest.

Adam and Katie Stromberger followed Adam’s parents Harold and Debbie to the area in 2021. The move took about a year.

“This is a family operation, so my folks are here … a big part of how this all happened was because this was a family operation from Colorado,” said Adam, the fourth generation of Stromberger farmers.

The land they left in Colorado due to growth and lack of water was what his great-grandpa, grandpa and dad all started farming on, Adam said. With them came their farm truck, a vintage baby blue Ford F-600 that’s stayed in the family since its purchase, and Adam’s vintage tractor collection. 

Now in Powell, the Stromberger’s hold a smidge over 700 acres of farmland between rented areas and land shared between Katie, Adam and his parents. 

Adam and Katie arrived partway through the 2021 growing season and would send equipment to Powell after they finished using it in Colorado where the growing season was roughly two weeks ahead of Wyoming.

Their Powell acreage was growing the same crops as their Colorado farm, Adam said, and the area provides better access to water. In Park County they can irrigate barley longer, while in Colorado they had to watch the water more carefully. When row crops, like corn and beans, began needing water, “you had to quit barley. You had no choice, you had to quit, you had to save your water for the row crops,” Adam said, “So the barley was kind of on its own after a certain point.”

The climate in Park County is good for barley and malt barley in particular, Adam said, due in part to cooler temperatures. Where they were farming in Colorado is probably 10 degrees hotter on average. The cooler weather helps the barley stay plump as it matures and not shrivel. The Stromberger barley yields are higher by roughly 10-20 bushels per acre, he added. 

When the barley is harvested it goes to Briess — a local facility is a luxury they didn’t have in Colorado. 

Before coming to Wyoming the Strombergers would have to take their barley out of the local area rather than to a local facility, and if it didn’t meet qualifications for malt it would have to be taken somewhere to be made into feed.

“Briess offers you off grade or feed at the same facility, so you can still take it to load and not have to find a different place to go with it,” Adam said. “I think that's really nice, if what we had in Colorado didn’t make malt specs then you had to find a different use for it, which sometimes was a challenge.”

In addition to barley, the Stromberger fields are home to dry beans, corn and sugar beets. 

By having a rotation you aren’t dependent on one crop, Katie said. “If something happens to one or two hopefully you’ve got the other two to fall back on,” Adam chimed in. 

This year’s barley, a new variety for them called Bojos, is looking OK, Adam said, noting they had some recent hail on their barley — it’s easier for late stage barley to shatter.

When most of the green is gone, farmers know it’s time to begin harvesting.

For the most part the fields are pretty even, Adam said, with a few spots wanting to hold their green longer, which is common in fields with mixed soil types where some spots may want to hold moisture longer and others dry out sooner. 

As for this year’s barley crop, harvest was expected at the end of July, Adam said.

“It got slowed down a little this week because it cooled off there, you know, the first of the week was cool,” Adam said. “So it wasn't, you know, ripening up as quick as it normally would if it stayed 90 degrees every day.”