Valley Malt is excited to include New Hampshire farmed grains in our malt selection, so NH brewers and distillers have access to ingredients grown close to home. “That was the goal when we started growing barley,” says Andy Morrill, from Morrill Farm in Penacook, a village in Concord, NH. “Coming from the dairy industry, we watched that local connection slip away. My idea was, I wanted to be connected to the end user. They can come to the farm and see the barley in the fields. They know the people that are growing it. It helps them and it helps us.”

Andy’s family has been raising dairy cattle on this land since 1925. He and his brothers and parents still milk cows and grow corn and hay for their own herd, and to sell to other area dairy farms. But as the dairy market has become more consolidated, the Morrills knew they needed to diversify their farm’s income streams.

They originally began growing barley in 2019 as animal feed, but Andy also had the goal of growing malt-quality barley, to tap into the craft beverage market. He sold his first barley harvest to Valley Malt, and we’ve been partners ever since.

Barley serves triple duty at Morrill Farm. “It works very well in our crop rotation,” says Andy. “We’re also able to utilize the straw as bedding for our own cattle and for sales.”

“We can’t grow all the food we need in our area, but at least we can grow some of it here. It’s important for people to see where a little bit of it comes from. And the biggest thing is, it’s just something we enjoy doing.”

This is why Valley Malt malts Northeast-grown grains from Morrill Farm and other regional family farms. You can learn more about the farms and this year’s harvest in our 2023 Crop Report.