2019 LATAH LYON + GENIE
2-ROW SPRING BARLEYS

CROP NOTES

GROWER: Horlacher Farms
GRAIN: LCS Genie, 2-Row Spring Barley (70 ac); WSU Lyon, 2-Row Spring Barley (70 ac)
SUSTY: Salmon-Safe; dry farmed
PLANTED: May 19, 2019
HARVESTED: September 4-9, 2019

This year we extended a warm welcome to Horlacher Farms (pronounced ‘hollicker'), now the northernmost grower on our team and our entry into the treasured Palouse region. Matt Horlacher split 140 acres between Genie and Lyon on a piece of Washington State University’s trust farmland. WSU and the Horlachers have made some impressive soil and water conservation measures to the place over the years, and we’d like to think they shine through in the barley quality we’re seeing.

Surprisingly, this barley wasn’t planted until May 19, 2019, almost a month later than our next latest planting. Such a delay would have been extremely risky for dry farmed barley 120 miles to the south in Walla Walla, pushing the crop’s maturation too far into the hot and dry summer months. But alas, the milder climate of the Palouse and the mild nature of the season nursed this crop along to an exceedingly high quality. Rains slowed harvest a bit, but the lab tests say not enough to affect quality.

We’re excited to run some side-by-side comparisons of Genie and Lyon grown in near-identical conditions, then compare these to the Genie and Lyon lots grown this year in the hotter and drier climate of Walla Walla. The Latah-grown Genie can also be compared directly to Genie grown in both Walla Walla and Waitsburg.