Harvest 2025 is wrapped, and wow, what a ride! We’re officially in the books with around 3 million pounds of barley safely tucked in storage bins, enough to fuel about a year and a half of malting magic here at Root Shoot. But beyond the numbers, this season felt like a big step forward in mastering winter barley, pushing regenerative practices, and learning the fine art of farming without a manual (because Mother Nature likes to keep us on our toes).
Winter Barley: The Rising Stars of Our Fields
Two winter barley varieties took center stage this year:
Thunder — an Oregon State University variety we planted for the second year. Good news: it crushed last year’s results. Yield was up, protein held steady at a solid 11.4%, perfect for high extract malt. We’re getting the hang of growing winter barley, and this was easily our best Thunder season yet. We harvested it with a stripper head, which means more residue left behind to feed the soil, and less ‘trash’ in the bins. More farming karma points for us.
Magic — our new kid on the block. Bred at the University of Idaho and in Idaho’s Magic Valley, this winter barley gave us our first taste of something higher yielding than our classic spring varieties. The verdict? Four stars, would grow again. It was a bit on the short side, so we’re still dialing in the soil nutrition. Protein clocked in at 12.8%, which is great, and it’s currently germinating in our malting drums. Fun fact: it has huge potential for high DP, suggesting excellent malting qualities ideal for distilling or adjunct brewing.
For comparison, our trusted spring variety, Genie barley, averaged a protein of 11.6% - solid and reliable as always.
Wheat: Growing Strong and TalL
Our wheat game is getting serious:
Oland Wheat: Planted last fall instead of our usual January sneak-in, Oland flexed some serious protein power at 16.2%, basically off the charts. Yield was great, with plants averaging about 4 feet tall. We planted 30 acres of this heritage grain and harvested it with… you guessed it… a stripper head. We’re excited to continue expanding our Oland Wheat acreage!
Huffman White Wheat: Clocked in at 13.9% protein with yields around 85-90 bushel/acre and 35 acres harvested with our stripper head. There was so much residue left behind, we were practically composting on the go.
Farming With Less, Learning More
One thing we’re proud of: no herbicides or fungicides were applied to any of our winter crops this season. We’re committed to reducing inputs every year, though sometimes the yields remind us that farming is a balancing act between nature’s generosity and challenge.
Here’s what we learned this year:
In-furrow phosphorus? Bad idea. We think it stunted our barley, so that’s going on the nope list. We’ll use fish hydrolysate next year!
Worm tea in-furrow? Wish we’d done it! We applied worm tea on our winter crops, but not our spring varieties. Any chance we get to introduce biology, we should’ve done it.
Our no-till drill is a beast! It’ll plant into just about anything. This year we planted winter crops straight into alfalfa stubble, and we’re not stopping there.
No-tilling spring barley? Still a puzzle. Too much residue reflects heat away, slowing germination when we really need soil warming.
Machinery: The combine held up like a champ, but the tractor... not so much. At least the tractor gave us a good story to tell.
Harvest itself was quick and smooth, taking only 7 days of combining to finish, thanks to great weather and our hardworking crew.
Looking Ahead: More Soil, More Grain, More Malt
This season reinforced how much we still have to learn, and how rewarding it is to see each year’s efforts pay off in the fields. Winter barley is quickly becoming a star crop for us, and with every new planting and harvest, we’re getting better at balancing yield, quality, and soil health.
We’re hopeful and energized for next year’s season, ready to keep pushing the envelope on regenerative agriculture and crafting malts that reflect the hard work and care that goes into every kernel.
Thanks for rooting for us from field to glass. Here’s to another year of sowing, growing and malting ahead!
— Your Root Shoot Crew
