The combines are rolling and another season’s hard work is coming together as barley harvest is officially underway in the region.

At Briess, Malt & Ingredients, Co., which has been family-owned for 150 years, they operate with one goal — helping customers succeed. In the Big Horn Basin, Judy Gillett is key to making that happen.

Gillett has been working at the grain storage facility in Ralston for 43 years and has been with Briess since it purchased the state-of-the-art elevator operation in 2016.

“I love my job,” she said. “It’s been a really good fit for me. I love agriculture, and I believe in it. Growing up on a farm, you understand that side of it, which is a benefit to my job here because I can understand their side as well as our side.”

She started at the elevators right out of high school in 1983 and has remained ever since. She began in quality control testing incoming barley, with more duties added throughout the years as she gained experience. 

“Eventually I started doing the inventory control and payments, and then they added the rail car stuff to my position and more recently the grower relations contracting,” she said.

In her current position as barley grower relationship manager, she is a specialized agricultural liaison who builds and maintains partnerships between malting companies, breweries, grain handlers and the farmers who cultivate the crop. Gillett coordinates directly with local producers in the Big Horn Basin.

“I also secure the rail cars so that we can ship our crop out in a timely manner,” she said.

Gillett grew up on a farm near Heart Mountain, now run by her brother and son, who grow barley for Briess. When her family arrives, she stays hands off and doesn’t test it. 

“I don’t make a decision on them, so that makes it easier,” she said. “Anytime you have family dynamics, it can be a challenge, but there’s also pride. I think it helps with understanding the farming side of it, as well as the company side of it.”

Briess received its first load of barley on July 20 from Laurel, Montana.

“In all the years I’ve worked here, normally harvest starts within three days of July 20th,” she said. “Either before or after. So I would say it’s very consistent with previous years as
far as timing.”

It’s early in the season, but Gillett said what has come in so far makes her believe it will be an average quality and yield year with around 100 to 120 bushels of barley per acre. So far the few loads that have been dropped off have looked just fine, but there’s a possibility that the dry winter and warmer than average spring could have an impact in some areas. 

“It’s better to have cooler temperatures and some rain because if the crop gets stressed between when it flags and when the head pops out, it can increase the protein in the barley,” she said. “It could make it feed barley.”

But because barley takes less water and is ready earlier in the growing season, Gillett said there will likely be less of an effect than on other crops this year. 

“The area to the south has had some water restrictions, but I don’t think it affected the barley very much,” Gillett said. “I would say time-wise it’s pretty consistent, and it probably will be an average crop this year.”

The majority of Briess’ barley comes from the Big Horn Basin, with a small amount out of southern Montana, and also southern Wyoming. 

“I think our reservoir has plenty of irrigation water most years, and being able to flood irrigate combined with the dry, arid climate prevents disease,” she said. “Also our crop rotation is very important. Being able to rotate the crops so that we don’t have diseases just growing and growing. When you rotate, it breaks that disease cycle. Also having adequate irrigation water to get the crop through to maturity. That makes a huge difference.”

It must meet Briess’ strict quality program specifications, which include low protein content and plump, uniform kernels. This isn’t often a problem, as the Big Horn Basin produces some of the highest quality barley in the world, Gillett said. Distinguishing characteristics of the region combine to produce exceptionally bright, plump, low protein barley desirable for American craft beer. 

However, if the barley fails those specifications, there is an off-grade spec, meaning growers will receive a lower price and the barley will be used locally. 

“We’re still able to make malt out of it, but it won’t go into brewing,” she said. “But if it’s out of that specification range and it goes into livestock feed, we do generally offer a livestock feed price so that the grower can dump the load here, even if it doesn’t meet quality, and just take the feed price, which is substantially lower.”

The peak of the season is usually the second week of August, but Gillett said the warmer temperatures could push that ahead a little bit this year. 

“Some of the fields are really starting to turn with the hot, dry weather,” she said. “It could push the crop up to the first week.”

Whenever the peak occurs, there will likely be 140 to 180 loads coming in. The season often wraps up around Labor Day, but can go to around mid-September. 

The barley that makes the cut is shipped to Wisconsin, where it then goes to American craft brewers, including WYOld West in Powell.