GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Growing barley for the pet food market requires on-farm and in-field crop management to meet industry standards.
Pet food companies that buy from Anchor Ingredients, a human and pet food processing business, buy barley that must meet specifications, including test weight and sprout specifications. Tony Rosing, who works in grain origination and logistics for Anchor Ingredients, explained that to farmers at the Prairie Grains Conference held in Grand Forks on Dec. 13-14.
The largest concentration of North Dakota’s barley acres is in the northeast and north-central part of the state. Most of Minnesota’s barley is grown in the northwest. Anchor Ingredients is based in Fargo, North Dakota, which borders Minnesota.
The demand for pet food ingredients has dramatically increased in the past few years as people buy food to feed the companion animal and rescued animals they’ve purchased and view as family members.
An estimated 20-30% of the barley grown in North Dakota is used as a pet food ingredient. The crop, which has beta glucans, is a complex carbohydrate and is water soluble, making it an attractive choice as a pet food ingredient.
Pet food companies, which set standards for barley used in their products, are concerned about contamination of the barley by GMO crops and fertilizers, Rosing said. For example, if the truck used to haul barley to an Anchor Ingredients plant previously hauled corn, the load will be scrutinized, he said.
Meanwhile, ochratoxin A levels in the barley that Anchor Ingredients purchases must be a maximum of 8 parts per billion. Ochratoxin occurs naturally in a variety of cereal grains, wine grapes and coffee.
Contamination of the commodities typically occurs as the result of poor storage and less-than-optimal agricultural practices during the drying of foods, according to the National Institutes of Health.
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That means farmers who grow barley for Anchor Ingredients must monitor it if they store it overwinter to make sure mold doesn’t develop in it.
Farmers can receive an additional several cents per bushel for barley that will be processed at Anchor Ingredients if they participate in a traceability program that the company launched in 2022, Rosing said. Under that program, farmers record the sustainable practices they used to grow the barley.
The demand for the program is growing as pet food companies become increasingly concerned about reducing their carbon footprint.
Sustainable practices to grow the barley include crop rotation, reducing fertilizer use and reducing tillage, Rosing said.
The price of the barley contracts that Anchor Ingredients will offer farmers in 2024 hadn’t yet been determined at Rosing’s Dec. 13 presentation at the Prairie Grains conference. The price will depend on factors such as January 2024 wheat and corn futures prices and the supply of barley that’s on hand in the United States.
In early 2022, when barley was in short supply because of a poor growing season in 2021, pet food companies offered contracts that were from $6.75 to $8 per bushel.
That’s not likely to happen in 2024 because
there’s a large amount of barley that U.S. farmers produced in 2022 and 2023 that still is in the bin.
Anchor Ingredients’ goal is to have contracts available for farmers in early January 2024, Rosing said.
Ann is a journalism veteran with nearly 40 years of reporting and editing experiences on a variety of topics including agriculture and business. Story ideas or questions can be sent to Ann by email at: abailey@agweek.com or phone at: 218-779-8093.
