How a Colorado farmer protected his farm from climate change and water shortages by turning to t – The Durango Herald

Colorado farmer Todd Olander stands in the grain warehouse of his company, Root Shoot Malting, near Loveland, Colorado, on April 11, 2024. (Joe Wertz/CPR News)

The Olander family has farmed near Loveland since the 1920s. They have grown everything from alfalfa to corn used to feed dairy cows.

The family’s farm spans multiple locations in Larimer County, one of the fastest growing counties in Colorado, but the approximately 2,000 acres on which they grow are all fed by the snowpack of Rocky Mountain more than a hundred miles away.

Nearly a decade ago, Todd Olander, 44, began worrying about that snowpack, the future of the family farm and whether he could count on the drain to be a reliable source of irrigation water.

“There have been times when we were planting in the spring or planting corn, planting in dry soil, knowing that there was basically no irrigation water available either, but Mother Nature always came through for us,” Olander told CPR News.

That may not always be the case, scientists say. Research shows that warming is already having profound effects on snow cover and reducing the amount of water flowing downstream. The warming, which is mainly caused by CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, is also causing snow cover to melt much earlier in some mountain areas, which could affect the amount and timing of water available for farmers if they count on it.

To strengthen his farm business, Olander turned to the craft beer industry – and the focus is paying off.

In 2016, Olander opened Root Shoot Malting, which supplies grain and malt for Colorado’s craft beer industry, one of the largest in the country and producing more than 830,000 barrels last year, according to data from the Brewer’s Association.

Olander said microbrewers value barley that can be grown with less water and varieties he believes respond well to more sustainable agricultural practices. Root Shoot has successfully used low-till farming methods and tried various crop rotations that keep the soil moist and healthy. Olander said he has also had good results with winter barley varieties, which are planted in the fall and often require less irrigation because they reach their peak before spring moisture is gone.

Root Shoot does the malting on site by adding filtered city water to batches of grain, which germinates before being dehydrated with a blast of air – a process called a ‘kiln’ that can be turned on to give the malt distinctive flavors for a variety of purposes . types of beer.

Olander said preparing for climate change and associated water shortages has made his farming business stronger and better.

“One day it’s going to come back and get us and bite us, and I want to be ready when that day comes,” he said.

When Root Shoot opened, it imported a stainless steel drum the size of a railroad car from Germany to make batches of malt. The company now supplies malt to 175 craft brewers and distillers, primarily in Colorado, and Olander has added two additional malt barrels to meet demand.

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org.

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