Oct. 18--An armada of Ford trucks broke the morning silence just after 5 a.m. -- not even the dogs standing sentry had the gumption to greet their owners this early in the morning.

It was just below freezing in late March when the four owners of the farm near Hagerman met to discuss the health of their most profitable crop.

The Elkins and Eckerts, third-generation Idaho farmers, shuffled into the office and fired up the coffeemaker before gathering around a table littered with newspapers, calculators and outdated agricultural reports.

There were mumblings about irrigation pivots needing repair, tractors to be moved and the potential for the lingering winter to damage young barley just beginning to sprout tender green shoots from the loamy soil.

"So much for global warming," mused Ron Elkin, co-owner of the farm that cultivates thousands of acres on a ridge overlooking the Snake River Canyon.

It's on this farm -- and 260 others in southern Idaho -- that the nation's largest breweries engineer, test and grow the key ingredient in the nation's top-selling consumer product: Beer.

Barley is Idaho's least-recognized commodity, but malt barley is quickly becoming a king of crops in a state better know for its potatoes. Coors, Budweiser, Modelo and about 10 craft breweries look to Idaho for a majority of their malting barley, making it the nation's second-largest producer -- surpassed only by North Dakota.

New research by growers, brewery agronomists and university researchers has helped Idaho farmers produce the second highest yield per acre in the nation. In the fall of 2009, southern Idaho barley growers planted their first contracted crop of winter barley, which allowed them to grow year-round. And industry representatives say that is only the beginning.

Kelly Olson, Idaho Barley Commission administrator, said growers tested Endeavor, a new winter variety that produces higher yields and is less prone to damage from disease, weeds and cold. It's another example of Idaho's push to become the leader in malt barley production -- a multimillion-dollar industry.

"We almost surpassed North Dakota this year, and I'm sure that we will see that soon," Olson said. "The Magic Valley is a premium growing area for barley because of the climate -- other areas just can't compete with it."

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Absolute control of moisture is the secret to good malt barley, effectively growing the grain to the most desirable size and nutrient level before cutting off water. The process is finicky and extremely vulnerable to damage from late-season moisture and cold, but growers who succeed win big contracts with the nation's largest malters.