Location: Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research
Project Number: 2050-21000-038-035-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2026
End Date: Aug 31, 2027
Objective:
1. Assess the effect of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rate, source, timing, and placement on spring and/or winter barley grain yield and quality.
2. Estimate NUE (yield/applied N fertilizer rate), N balance (grain and residual soil N), and the environmental impact of N fertilizer strategies using a tool like the Cool Farm Tool (coolfarm.org) .
3. Investigate the interactions of other nutrients and crop additives (e.g., water, sulfur, phosphorus, lime, plant growth regulators, etc.) with N on barley resilience to environmental stressors, including drought, frost, extended cold, and soil acidity among others.
In 2024, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota jointly produced 79% of the United States 144 million bushels of barley. The main factors driving barley production in these states are water availability, followed by N availability. Government policies and consumer sentiments to quantify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions require agricultural producers to seek ways to reduce their impact on the environment. Further, high fertilizer and other input prices and low commodity prices require barley producers to minimize their expenses while maintaining crop productivity. One of the easiest ways for producers, maltsters, and brewers to reduce their scope 1 and 3 emissions and minimize inputs costs is to optimize N fertilizer inputs and improve N use efficiency (NUE). Fertilizer application rate, source, and timing can significantly impact NUE and N availability to the crop. Global estimates suggest that 1 lb CO2 is released for every 0.3 – 0.39 lb N fertilizer produced, and transportation of the fertilizer generates an additional 0.2 lb CO2/lb N (Menegat, et al., 2022; https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/urea-production-the-economics/). As of May 30, 2026, the US average price per ton of urea was $921, or 144% of the cost of urea in 2023. Hence, even small reductions in N fertilizer rates or modest improvements in N use efficiency can have a large impact on emissions and farm economics.
This project will increase the number of acres routinely using soil sampling and allow barley producers to continue to consistently meet malt barley contract specifications while minimizing their nutrient inputs and environmental pollution. The data will be used to update University production guides and to generate at least one-peer reviewed journal article. The research results will be relevant to Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, northern Utah, and eastern Washington barley producers.
Approach:
Field studies will be conducted at multiple locations in Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota annually on field sites representative of the regional barley growing conditions. Regionally appropriate spring barley varieties will be grown at each location. Various N and other nutrient/crop additive treatments will be evaluated for their ability to reduce/optimize crop inputs for barley production that optimize yield and grain quality. Fertilizer sources include urea, urea with nitrification and/or urease inhibitors, polymer coated urea, liquid fertilizer sources, biologicals, and other soil/crop amendments. In addition to grain yield and quality measurements, soil samples will be collected before planting and post-harvest to quantify fertilizer N utilization, NUE, N balance, and the environmental impact of each of the treatments. Grain samples may be shipped to the USDA ARS Grain Quality Lab for malt quality analysis.