It’s hot. The fair just finished. And that means it’s malt barley harvest time in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming and neighboring areas.

Judy Gillett, grower relationship manager for Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. at its Ralston elevator,  just needs a glance at the calendar to mark the start of the barley harvest. In her 41 years of working in the barley industry in this area, she has come to know the first barley trucks will roll within three days either side of July 23.

That window was true again this year.

Briess received its first deliveries of malt barley at the Ralston station on Monday, July 22. Five truckloads of grain from two different growers in the Laurel, Montana, area were unloaded to kick off the harvest.

And true to form, the Park County Fair was in full swing at the fairgrounds in Powell starting Tuesday, July 23.

The yield expectation for the 2024 crop is average or possibly a bit above average, Gillett said. That translates to between 110 and 120 bushels per acre.

“We had a cool, wet spring and that can be good for barley, Gillett noted.  “Once we hit the near 100-degree days, the crop really comes on. The heat really finishes off the barley.”

Briess malt barley growers benefit from the dry climate and flood irrigation which provides for a consistent and constant supply of water.

“That’s the reason they’re here,” Gillett said of Briess. “The cool thing is we have the best barley in the world in this area.”

The barley Briess receives at its spacious Ralston storage facility is shipped out to its Wisconsin malt house destination when it is needed during the year. The malt barley feeds its craft brewing and food channels.

There’s a good chance that craft beers brewed at area breweries use at least some Briess malt.