Schumer calls on USDA to expand access to malt-barley crop insurance to New York farmers

VOLNEY, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand access to malt-barley crop insurance to farmers across New York.

Schumer on Monday addressed the topic during a visit to the 1886 Malt House at 376 Owens Road in Volney.

“Only” four counties have access to federally backed malt-barley insurance coverage in New York, even though farmers in other states have “broad” coverage, Schumer explained in a news release.

Schumer called the 1886 Malt House a “critical link” in meeting the local-ingredient needs of farm and craft breweries across New York.

But the Democrat also noted that “most” of their partners in the regional malt-barley farming community lack “critical” insurance to grow the crop. It needs “very specific conditions” to grow and is “susceptible” to severe weather and disease.

Access to this crop insurance, Schumer contends, will become “increasingly important” because, over the next decade, New York will require farm craft brewers and distillers to source 90 percent of ingredients from local farms and malt houses.

The supply of malt barley will need to increase to meet this demand, he added.

“Distilleries, breweries, and malt houses like the one here in Volney pour local products and jobs into our economy, which is why it is important that we continue to support this industry by providing them with every available tool necessary to continue to grow,” Schumer said in the release. “But the lack of federally backed insurance for malt barley is preventing farmers from planting this crucial crop. Without protections, the risk is just too high for some, and that could prevent our malt houses, craft breweries and distilleries from meeting requirements of New York’s Farm Brewing Law. In order to meet the current demand of craft brewers and distillers, New York State growers will need to significantly increase their malt-barley production. That is why I am calling on the USDA to expand access to this vital product beyond the four New York counties that can access it now. It is time to make this insurance available across the state so that our farmers, malt houses, distillers, and brewers can tap into their full potential.”

The 1886 Malt House is a malted-grain production facility on the former Miller Brewing campus in Volney, near Fulton.

The 40,000-square-foot facility is on the site of, and part of, the Sunoco Ethanol plant on the agri-business campus.

Crews will complete the plant this year, a project that is costing $12.5 million, Schumer said.

The name 1886 commemorates a time when the craft beverage industry was booming in New York State. It is also the year that the Statue of Liberty was gifted to the U.S.

The facility will supply more than 2,000 tons of barley malt each year, which makes it a “significant” supplier of barley malt to the craft-brewing industry in the U.S.

Over the course of 2016 and 2017, 1886 Malt House has contracted for malt barley with farmers in Genesee, Orleans, Madison, Oneida, Erie, Onondaga, Niagara, Cayuga, Franklin, and Otsego counties but “seeks to continue to grow” its contacts across New York, according to Schumer’s release.

The facility currently has 500 acres of the crop under contract for 2016 and 700 acres under contract for 2017.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

PHOTO CAPTION: Seen in this 2016 BJNN file photo, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) on Monday called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand access to malt-barley crop insurance to farmers across New York. Schumer addressed the topic during a visit to the 1886 Malt House at 376 Owens Road in Volney. (Eric Reinhardt / BJNN file photo)