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2013 Hops Production Diary

Following is a link to a data collection booklet for hops production.  This booklet was created in collaboration of Cornell University and the University of Vermont.  Funding was provided from a USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant and New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets.
2013 Hops Production Diary (Word)
2013 Hops Production Diary (PDF)

Hop Surveys

Click here to take the Hops Survey for Growers

Click here to take the Hops Survey for Brewers

The Hops Project

Hops production was common throughout the Northeast in the 1800s. However, today most hops production occurs in the Pacific Northwest. Renewed interest and demand for local hops is breathing new life into an otherwise “historical” crop. To increase hops production in the Northeast, the UVM Extension Crops and Soils Team is developing an outreach and applied research program for hops. Public interest in sourcing local foods also extends into beverages, and craft brewing is on the rise in conjunction with the expanding market. The Northeast Hop Alliance, in association with Cornell University, conducted a survey in 2002 which reported that the majority of breweries would be willing to pay a premium of between 5 – 10% for regional hops. The expanding craft brewing market and the strength of the localvore movement have outlined a need to investigate the viability for hops production in the area. We received an USDA Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative grant in partnership with Washington State University, Colorado State University, and Michigan State University with a goal of developing organic hop agronomic practices and recommendations. We have also received funds for our research through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Specialty Crops Program to build a small-scale hops harvester.  The Vermont Agricultural Innovations Center has also been a key partner in enabling a lot of our outreach programs, and thanks to their support, we are in the process of designing other small-scale hops processing prototypes.  The blueprints to these designs are publicly available on our wiki site. The Northeast IPM Center has also been a partner in the development of integrated pest management practices in hopyards. We continue to work toward discovering the most viable varieties for both organic and conventional hops production in our region. Ultimately we hope to find cultivars that combine disease resistance, high yields, and desirable brewing attributes. We are also investigating various fertility and pest management strategies for organic hop production. Check back here frequently for more information and updates, and subscribe to our hops blog!

Check out what UVM Extension NW Crops and Soils Team has been doing:

2012 Organic Hop Variety Trial: Results from Year Two (.pdf)

Hop Harvest Readiness blog post from What’s Hoppening, UVM Extension’s hops blog

UVM Extension’s Hop Harvest Moisture Calculator (online tool)

UVM Extension’s Hop Harvest Moisture Calculator (.xlsx)

UVM Extension 2011 Organic Hops Variety Trial: Preliminary Results (.pdf)

UVM Extension 2011 Hops Scouting Report (.pdf)

Hop Fertility Management in the Northeast (.pdf)

Organic Fungicides and Hops (.pdf)

UVM Extension’s Heather Darby and Rosalie Madden featured in Brews Reporter on hop growing for the homebrewer

News from the field!

Scouting Report, June 2012

Downy Mildew

Eastern Comma Butterfly

Japanese Beetle

Potato Leafhopper

Powdery Mildew

Spider Mite Destroyers and Spined Solider Bugs

Two-Spotted Spider Mites

Workshops and Conference Proceedings

Proceedings from the February 22, 2013 Winter Hops Conference at the Essex

Dr. Heather Darby, Rosalie Madden, and Scott Lewins: Updates from UVM (.pdf)

Lily Calderwood, UVM grad student, on cover cropping in Northeastern hopyards (.pdf)

Rich Andrews from Boulder, CO on solar hop drying (.pdf)

Krista Delahunty and Jason Johnston of Aroostook Hops in Maine on cover cropping and irrigation (.pdf)

Graham Ollard, a Washington hops consultant on hops fertility and pest management (.pdf)

Proceedings from the March 19, 2012 Winter Hops Conference at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center

Kris Anderson – Addison Hop Farm, Statistics and Costs from 2011 (.pdf)

Ron Brennan – Trialling a Low Trellis Hopyard (.pdf) (YouTube)

Chris Callahan – Mobile Hop Picker (.pdf)

Dr. Heather Darby and Rosalie Madden – Organic Hop Yield and Quality in the Northeast (.pdf)

Ann Hazelrigg – What’s Wrong with My Hops Plants? (.pdf)

Ian Pfeiffer and Brian Pinan – Hops Baler (.pdf)

Roger Rainville – Building an Oast (.pdf)

Daniel Sharp – Hops Research: Hop Aroma (.pdf)

Proceedings from the February 18, 2011 Winter Hops Conference at the Trapp Family Lodge

Dr. John Henning – High Quality Hop Production, Low-Trellis Systems (.pdf) (YouTube)

Dr. John Henning – USDA-ARS Hop Breeding and Genetics Program (.pdf)

Mark Magiera – Brewers Panel Introduction (.pdf)

Brewers Panel Discussion (.pdf)

Roger Rainville – Building a Hopyard (.pdf) (YouTube)

Proceedings from the March 26, 2010 Winter Hops Conference: Hopping To It!

Jason Perrault, hop farmer and breeder from Yakima Valley, Washington – transcript (.pdf)

Jason Perrault’s presentation (.pdf)

Hop Resources

Hopyard Construction

• Hop Trellising and Budgets by Edward Page, through Ron Godin’s site at Colorado State (Great pictures)

• Hopyard Construction: Budgeting and Economics by Edward Page and Ron Godin (Similar to the above, except with Year 3 results from the low-trellis trials)

• Simple Earth Hops, WI – Trellising Hardware Information

• University of Minnesota has been doing research on low-trellis vs. high-trellis hopyards. Find out more about their work here. Also includes a Trellis Cost Calculator!

• Watch Roger Rainville construct the UVM Extension research hopyard on YouTube!
• Roger Rainville’s presentation on building a hopyard from the 2011 Winter Hops Conference
  • Borderview Farm hopyard construction costs

  Hardware

  • Erigging Supply
  • Gorst Valley Hops
  • Safeland Industrial Supply
  • Web Rigging Supply

  Irrigation

  • Watch UVM Extension’s YouTube video on setting up irrigation in your hopyard!
  • Irrigation parts list from the UVM Extension hopyard
  • Aroostook Hops in Maine received a Northeast SARE Farmer Grant. Their findings on the importance of irrigation in a Northeastern hopyard are well worth a read!

  Hop Varieties

  • Hop Variety Handbook by Hopunion
  • Yakima Chief Hop Varietal Guide
  • USDA Hop Cultivar Index

  Rhizomes

  • Applegate Hops, OR. Certified organic rhizomes: Cascade, Centennial, Sterling, Nugget and US Golding. $2.50/rhizome, or $2/rhizome for orders over 500. Website coming soon! In the meantime, to place an order, call 541-899-9144 or email Applegate Hops
• Aroostook Hops, Westfield, ME
• Atlantic Hops, Larchmont, NY
• Blue Ridge Hops, Marshall, NC
• Crosby Hop Farm, Woodburn, OR
• Foothill Hops, Munnsville, NY
• Freshops, Philomath, OR
• Gorst Valley Hops, Mazomanie, WI
• Main Street Homebrew Supply Co., Hillsboro, OR
• Northwest Hops, Hubbard, OR
• South Royalton Market, South Royalton, VT
• Summit Plant Labs, Fort Collins, CO (Disease-free hop plugs!)
• Thyme Garden Herb Company, Alsea, OR
• Vermont Homebrew Supply, Winooski, VT

Pest Management

• Pest scouting video with Scott Lewins and Savanna Kittell-Mitchell!
• Field Guide for Integrated Pest Management in Hops (from Washington State University)
• Hop Pest Management (University of Idaho)
• Hop Disease Index (Oregon State University Extension)
• Insects in Hops by N.L. Rothwell (Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station)
• Order “Compendium of Hop Diseases and Pests” from the American Phytopathological Society

Harvesting

• Check out UVM Extension’s Instructional Wiki for blueprints for a small-scale harvester, small-scale balers, and a small-scale oast!
• Watch UVM Extension’s YouTube video on determining hop harvest moisture and ideal storage dry matter!
• Determining Hop Dry Matter (from Oregon Hop Commission)
• Hop Harvest Readiness blog post from What’s Hoppening, UVM Extension’s hops blog
• UVM Extension’s Hop Harvest Moisture Calculator (online tool)
• UVM Extension’s Hop Harvest Moisture Calculator (.xlsx)
• Solar hops dryer designed by Richard Andrews as part of the Colorado State University’s Specialty Crops Program

Quality Testing

• Brew Laboratory
• Alpha Analytics
• Atlantic Hops

General Hoppy Information

• Growing Hops in Vermont Discussion Group

• Hop – Alternative Field Crops Manual (from Purdue University)

• Hops Fertilizer Guide (Oregon State University Extension Service)

• Hops TV from Hops Direct

• Hopunion

• Small-Scale and Organic Hops Manual (from Crannog Ales)

• Sustainable Hop Production in the Great Lakes Region (from Michigan State University Extension)

• University of Vermont Hops Information by Leonard Perry

• USDA Hops Website

Organizations of Note

• American Organic Hop Grower Association

• Atlantic Hops

• Gorst Valley Hops

• Hop Growers of America

• Massachusetts Brewers Guild

• Michigan Hop Alliance

• The Northeast Hop Alliance

• Oregon Hop Commission

• Vermont Brewers Association

Hops Feasibility Study

Rosalie J. Wilson Business Development Services developed a Feasibility and Market Research Study For Commercial Hops Production in New England with money from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Videos

Dr. Heather Darby and Rosalie Madden on Across the Fence, November 22, 2011:Updates on UVM Extension hops research and results from a first year of data.

Watch our Photo Slideshows!

Hop tour to Washington’s Yakima Valley, September 2010

Hops are Hip, UVM Extension field day at Four Star Farms in Northfield, MA, August 2010

Hopping To It – 2010 Hops Conference at the Trapp Family Lodge