On farms in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, row after row of hops vines stretch as far as the eye can see.

Those hops plants are harvested and used to supply the booming beer industry in the state, which is home to 357 craft breweries and ranks fifth in the nation, according to the Brewers Association. But just 10 years ago, Michigan’s hops industry was essentially nonexistent.

Farmers in the Great Lakes State, in tandem with the explosive rise of craft beer, realized the climate and soil were prime for hops and there was significant demand for locally grown varieties of the cone shaped flower that adds bitterness and flavor complexity to beer.  

Today, Michigan is the fourth largest hops producer in the U.S., and farmers across the state are reaping the benefits, according to the Hop Growers of America.

An ambitious, eighth generation farmer in Middle Tennessee wants to replicate that phenomenon in the Volunteer State — except with malted barley, which is typically the main ingredient in beer, instead of hops.

Contrary to popular opinion, that craft beer from your favorite Nashville brewery most likely contains ingredients from all over the world. Many of Tennessee’s 100 craft breweries, just like breweries all over the country, have relied on barley imported from Canada, Europe and other U.S. states to make their beers.

Brandon Whitt of Rutherford County’s Batey Farms wants to bring malted barley production to farms across Tennessee.

In recent years, Whitt partnered with Nashville-based Tennessee Brew Works to start supplying wheat and barley for the brewery’s two all-Tennessee-grain beers, the Southern Wit (made with Batey Farms barley and wheat) and the State Park Blonde (made with Batey Farms barley). The State Park Blonde is brewed in partnership with the Tennessee State Parks and a portion of the proceeds go toward the Tennessee State Park Conservancy.

Meanwhile, Whitt is developing plans to launch Volunteer Mission Malt, a malt facility that would further support Tennessee’s agriculture industry, which accounts for 9 percent of the state’s economy and generates $52.6 billion in economic output, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

Whitt’s goal is for small farmers across the state to grow barley and contract with Volunteer Mission Malt, which would be the first of its kind facility and program in Tennessee. Local brewers and distillers could then use that malted barley in their beer and spirits. Because there are no malt facilities in Tennessee, Whitt currently contracts with a facility in North Carolina.

“We want the consumer to be able to connect the vision of grain to glass and the economic impact it has all the way from the farmer putting the seed in the ground to the restaurant serving the pint or mixed drink. Beer should be celebrated as a truly Tennessee grown, raised and manufactured product,” Whitt said.

Whitt starting learning everything he could about barley after he saw bags of imported grains sitting on the shelves at local breweries. Tennessee Brew Works owner Christian Spears explained those grains came from Europe, Canada and wherever else they were available — a list that did not include Tennessee.

Some Tennessee farms were already growing barley, but most varieties were used for livestock feed.  

Whitt researched how he could grow barley to provide for local breweries. He learned Tennessee’s soil and climate are great for growing a winter malting barley, which is harvested in the spring before it gets too hot and humid. He planted his first crop of two-row barley about five years ago. Today, Batey Farms grows about 250 acres of barley on the 2,300-acre farm.

Most of Batey Farms’ malted barley is used in the beers at Tennessee Brew Works, but the farm has provided some of its grains to Yazoo Brewing Co., Jackalope Brewing Co., Asgard Brewing Co. and Harding House Brewing Co.

Spears of Tennessee Brew Works said the State Park Blonde and Southern Wit — both made with 100 percent Tennessee-grown grains — account for about 40 percent of the brewery’s sales. Spears wants to encourage other breweries and distilleries to take a leap of faith and commit to buying local grains, which would in turn boost Tennessee’s agriculture industry.

“The stuff we’re getting from Batey Farms is really primo,” Spears said. “It’s close to the source and high, high quality. The reality is, though, if we’re really going to move the needle, it has to be more people than us.”

Farmers across Tennessee might be encouraged to grow malting barley using upcoming research from the Agricenter International in Memphis. For three years, the nonprofit research center has been evaluating different varieties of winter malting barley with the end goal of providing extensive growing information to farmers in the state.

“We got the idea several years ago with commodity prices being low and what some alternative crops might be that our growers in Tennessee could look into,” said Bruce Kirksey, the Agricenter International’s director of research. “Barley is one of those, as well as hops and chickpeas. We’re looking at all different types of crops.”

Kirksey said ongoing research this fall will look at the best planting dates for a successful winter malting barley crop, types of fertilizers, weed control techniques and more.

Other researchers and growers across the U.S. are similarly experimenting with malting grains to make local beer a truly local product. For instance, Farm Boy Farms in North Carolina provides locally grown barley, wheat and hops to microbreweries and homebrewers in the state; and Michigan State University has its own barley research team to support local growers.

As many American farms struggle to stay afloat, Whitt said it’s more crucial than ever to think outside the box to ensure sustainability. Malting barley has the potential to be a new cash crop as demand ebbs and flows for corn, soybeans, tobacco, dairy, wheat, grain sorghum and other crops grown on Tennessee farms.

Still, Whitt wants to honor the many generations that have lived and worked on Batey Farms since its founding in 1807.

“Our moto on the farm is preserving the past and embracing the future,” Whitt said. “It’s a fine line we walk between preserving our heritage and holding into what grandad taught us on the farm, but also being able to open the box up a little more and branch out into new and upcoming opportunities.”

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Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.