The Ohlander family has been farming near Loveland since the 1920s. They have grown everything from alfalfa to corn to feed dairy cows.
Although the family farming operation spans multiple locations in Larimer County, one of Colorado’s fastest growing counties, all of the approximately 2,000 acres of land under cultivation are located more than 100 miles apart. It is fed by the snowfall of the Rocky Mountains.
Nearly 10 years ago, Todd Olander, 44, started worrying about the snowpack, the future of his family’s farm and whether he could rely on the runoff as a reliable source of irrigation water.
“We sometimes planted corn in the spring or in dry soil, knowing that we didn’t actually have access to irrigation water, but Mother Nature always helps us,” Olander told CPR News. Ta.
That’s not necessarily the case, scientists say. Research shows that warming temperatures are already having a severe impact on snowpack, reducing the amount of water flowing downstream. Global warming, caused primarily by carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, is causing snowpack to melt much faster in some mountainous regions, impacting the amount and timing of water available to farmers who depend on it. may have an impact.
Olander turned to the craft beer industry to shore up his farm, and the effort is paying off.
In 2016, Ohlander founded Rootshoot Malting, which supplies grain and malt to Colorado’s craft beer industry. The industry is one of the largest in the country, producing more than 830,000 barrels last year, according to data from the Brewers Association.
Joe Wirtz/CPR News Todd Ohlander shows off a handful of Vienna-style malts fresh from the kiln at Rootshoot Malting near Longmont, Colorado, on April 11, 2024.
Olander said craft brewers value barley because it can be grown with less water, and the variety responds well to more sustainable farming practices. Rootshoot has taken advantage of low-tillage farming methods and experimented with different crop rotations to keep the soil moist and healthy. Mr Orlander said he was also seeing good results with winter barley varieties planted in the fall. Planted in the fall, they often require less irrigation because they reach their peak fruit before spring moisture runs out.
Rootshoot malts on-site by adding filtered city water to a batch of grain and germinates it before drying with air blowing. This process is called “kilning” and can be dialed in to give your malt a variety of distinctive flavors. types of beer.
Joe Wirtz/CPR News April 11, 2024 A cat guards against rats in the grain warehouse at Rootshoot Malting near Longmont, Colorado.
Olander said preparing for climate change and associated water scarcity has made farming both harder and better.
“One day it’s going to come back and attack us and bite us, and we want to be ready when that day comes,” he said.
When Root Chute opened, it imported railroad car-sized stainless steel drums from Germany to produce batches of malt. The company currently supplies malt to 175 craft breweries and distilleries, primarily in Colorado, and Ohlander has added his two malting drums to meet demand.
