Well....I am officially a hop farmer

Took the plunge this week, and agreed to rent land for a hop yard.

Almost 3 acres of land, certified organic.
I work for the land owner parttime repairing equipment for their landscape/nursery company. This keeps me there a bit anyway. I am able to use the company equipment:Skid Loaders, tractors, post hole diggers, tillers and the like. WE also have an organic composting system which will provide me with plenty of nutrients for my hops.

Here is an aerial pic of the land, I put a rectangle around the section I rented.



Hopefully by spring I will have a large number of used telephone poles dropped off for use in a trellis. I have a contact at the local power company.

Have to work out a few things yet.... I dont have water close by, so I will have to use a large water tank to water my hops. I also want to put up a cold frame to start the rhizomes in before planting in the ground.

I have a number of sources lined up for rhizomes, including the nursery where I work. I can buy from them at cost, but selection is limited.

Anyways, I will be posting pics as I go. I also plan on having a "Hop Yard Fall Party" at the end of each season.

Holy crap, talk about jumping in with both feet! I'm happy just to get 5 plants going for my second season...

Wow... good luck man! That is a cool project!

Right on. The newest issue of BYO has an article about small scale hop farming. It takes a bit to get established but apparently they are successful.

You can not use the telephone poles if you want to be organic certified.

Creosote treated lumber is out, as is cromated copper arsenate treated (pressure treated) lumber.

NTOLERANCE said:

Took the plunge this week, and agreed to rent land for a hop yard.

Almost 3 acres of land, certified organic.
I work for the land owner parttime repairing equipment for their landscape/nursery company. This keeps me there a bit anyway. I am able to use the company equipment:Skid Loaders, tractors, post hole diggers, tillers and the like. WE also have an organic composting system which will provide me with plenty of nutrients for my hops.

Here is an aerial pic of the land, I put a rectangle around the section I rented.

Hopefully by spring I will have a large number of used telephone poles dropped off for use in a trellis. I have a contact at the local power company.

Have to work out a few things yet.... I dont have water close by, so I will have to use a large water tank to water my hops. I also want to put up a cold frame to start the rhizomes in before planting in the ground.

I have a number of sources lined up for rhizomes, including the nursery where I work. I can buy from them at cost, but selection is limited.

Anyways, I will be posting pics as I go. I also plan on having a "Hop Yard Fall Party" at the end of each season.

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I wish you all the luck in the world, bro. keep the faith....

Those hops are going to be garbage! Send them all to me for disposal.

Orangevango said:

You can not use the telephone poles if you want to be organic certified.

Creosote treated lumber is out, as is cromated copper arsenate treated (pressure treated) lumber.

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The organic grower at work said treated lumber can be used, provided it is burned/charred to a certain amount ( I think it was 1" depth ).

I have a back up plan though. My day job provides me acess to damaged industrial racking. These are steel beams and cross braces 20' and longer. They are also much easier to handle than telephone poles.

Call the USDA.

Burning does not denature tar-creosote, and charring the ends would be a hazard to your health in all likelihood.

Im surprised you aren't buying the land. Its going to suck when your landlord decides that he wants his nd back, and you have 30,000 dollars in infrastructure on it that you really dont have any way to move.

I am planting a hop farm in the spring, only 160 plants, but I already own the land, and am using plain pine trees for the posts. For treatment, I am painting the ends with a wax-linseed oil mixture.

I expect them to last about 3-4 years before needing replacement.

On the compost front, where are you getting your compostables? You will find that getting anything by the pickup-truck load is not going to be sufficient. Plan on buying a dump truck load of manure every couple of months.

I hope you have the money to last out the income-less time before the hops start producing.

Best of luck to you.

MBasile said:

Those hops are going to be garbage! Send them all to me for disposal.

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Haha, yes; I concur. I think they should be shipped up here to Canada in the middle of nowhere for disposal.

Nicely done! Keep us posted.
I was happy to have 3 12' bines this year as a first year grower. Got a small ziploc bag full of Cascade my first season! Yee Haw!
:fro:

Orangevango said:

Call the USDA.

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What he said. It's non-trivial to get and keep organic certification, and if the land is already certified, you certainly don't want to do something to negate that!

BTW, what are all those depressions in the land to the north of your plot?

Randar said:

What he said. It's non-trivial to get and keep organic certification, and if the land is already certified, you certainly don't want to do something to negate that!

BTW, what are all those depressions in the land to the north of your plot?

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They arent depressions, they are apple trees....

Orangevango said:

Call the USDA.

Burning does not denature tar-creosote, and charring the ends would be a hazard to your health in all likelihood.

Im surprised you aren't buying the land. Its going to suck when your landlord decides that he wants his nd back, and you have 30,000 dollars in infrastructure on it that you really dont have any way to move.

I am planting a hop farm in the spring, only 160 plants, but I already own the land, and am using plain pine trees for the posts. For treatment, I am painting the ends with a wax-linseed oil mixture.

I expect them to last about 3-4 years before needing replacement.

On the compost front, where are you getting your compostables? You will find that getting anything by the pickup-truck load is not going to be sufficient. Plan on buying a dump truck load of manure every couple of months.

I hope you have the money to last out the income-less time before the hops start producing.

Best of luck to you.

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Land near me is big $$$$$$....so at this time, renting is my best option. Our agreement is for a number of years out.....so my hope(and our agreement) is that I dont get kicked out anytime soon. She (land owner) understands that this is a long term prospect. She also owns about 30 acres of additional land, should she need it or if I wanted to expand. She has about 20 of those 30 acres rented out already, but she immediatly said, If I wanted more land, she would rather rent to me than anyone else. There seems to be a surplus of land (organic) around me for rent. This parcel I am renting has been unused for a number of years.....about 10 she tells me.

I will definetly check into the USDA on the poles. I would rather use the steel beams as its alot easier to move around....plus they are free. Assuming the paint lasts, I can see the beams lasting alot longer than wood anyway.

WE get our compost from the local lakes of all places. EVery spring/summer they dredge (?) the local chain of lakes of its unwanted seaweed. They drop this stuff of by the dumptruck load. WE compost it, used worms to help break it down, and mix it with other organic compost and end up with a super rich organic fertilizer. We have gotten this stuff for a number of years and have more than we need. Currently, we mix it with soil for perrenial flower beds, but this doesnt use up enough of it. We use a rotation of the piles of this stuff, constantly mixing it and turning it over...all 30' long by 3' high piles. Last I looked ( and this is the end of the season) there were still about 8 of those piles left.

I've got alot to learn about this stuff, in spite of reading everything I can find on the subject. Still, I am excited as all get out.

Congrats again on making the leap. Hope it works out for ya. You contact local breweries or microbrew places yet about buying your organic hops to gauge interest?

Wow, great thread...GOOD FOR YOU! Me = jealous!

I wish you well with all the work and keep us posted!

Curious question...how will you harvest (manual labor to pick my 12 ounces a year is a PITA) - read overhead!!!!!?????

I'd sans the treated poles...losts of contaminants (creosote is NASTY) and charing will only create more chemicals (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons).

OK, I work for an environmental company...PAHs = ash. Not healthy and regulated in some states. BUT...same s#!t on your burned burger...that's why I like my cows raw!

You seem to be getting the growing under control. What are your plans for harvesting and pelletizing/packaging? I just grow a few bines at home and seen the large scale mechanized harvesting, picking and sorting up in the NorthWet. I am curious how harvesting is handled on a smaller commercial scale. It seems too small for expensive mechanization but very labor intensive to do all by hand.

To answer questions about harvesting......

My current plan is to harvest by hand.....my main cable running down the rows will be one that I am able to lower to drop the bines/hops to chest level. I have plenty of helpers... (read children). This past year, both my youngest kids helped my harvest the hops from my 4 plants at home. I had to bribe them a bit.

I am not sure how I want to sell my hops. MY first thought was home brewers, and a LHBS. I have also thought about the local breweries, as more are making fresh/wet hop ales, with local hops. Central Waters Brewery even makes an all Wisconsin (grains/water/hops) Wet hop ale. In a few years, I may be able to sell enough to a brewery to make a limited batch....but breweries dont pay alot for hops compared to home brewers. So, we shall see. In my experience, the more I talk to people, the more likely I am to come up with a viable selling option.

I thought about having a Hop Harvest Fest. Opening the hop yard to home brewers, with a pick your own type of set up. This option sounds like fun, having a harvest party, letting people pick the hops, and making friendships that will last and spread the business.

It also lets more people know where my hop yard is. Right now, its secluded, and no one knows the location or how to get to it.

So....lots to consider....

NTOLERANCE said:

To answer questions about harvesting......

My current plan is to harvest by hand.....my main cable running down the rows will be one that I am able to lower to drop the bines/hops to chest level. I have plenty of helpers... (read children). This past year, both my youngest kids helped my harvest the hops from my 4 plants at home. I had to bribe them a bit.

I am not sure how I want to sell my hops. MY first thought was home brewers, and a LHBS. I have also thought about the local breweries, as more are making fresh/wet hop ales, with local hops. Central Waters Brewery even makes an all Wisconsin (grains/water/hops) Wet hop ale. In a few years, I may be able to sell enough to a brewery to make a limited batch....but breweries dont pay alot for hops compared to home brewers. So, we shall see. In my experience, the more I talk to people, the more likely I am to come up with a viable selling option.

I thought about having a Hop Harvest Fest. Opening the hop yard to home brewers, with a pick your own type of set up. This option sounds like fun, having a harvest party, letting people pick the hops, and making friendships that will last and spread the business.

It also lets more people know where my hop yard is. Right now, its secluded, and no one knows the location or how to get to it.

So....lots to consider....

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I dont know how to take that...

You can get more money from them because they regularly get hosed by the LHBS, so youd rather keep that price gouging up and sell to them, than sell at farm direct prices that are more like $.50 per ounce? (Hops Direct) Or half that if they are wet.

I hope I read that wrong, because it kinda miffs me to think youd rather sell to HBers because it is easier to gouge them, when breweries will only pay fair market value.

All of that aside... I see harvesting and drying as probably the most laborious portions of this venture. If you can get the harvesting, drying and packaging down, should work out just fine. Pelletizing would be a bonus too.

Buying anything in small quantities is more expensive Pol.

To the OP. I am planting 1/10th of an acre, I am planting on a slightly compressed plan (my rows are a bit narrower). I am planting 160 plants.

If you plan on planting a significant portion of that field, you better have some more labor than your children lined up. You are looking at 1000+ plants, and the harvest will likely be in the beginning of the school year.

If you get a pound from each bine (not a large amount) where do you dry 1,000 pounds of hops?

The Pol said:

I dont know how to take that...

You can get more money from them because they regularly get hosed by the LHBS, so youd rather keep that price gouging up and sell to them, than sell at farm direct prices that are more like $.50 per ounce? (Hops Direct)

I hope I read that wrong, because it kinda miffs me to think youd rather sell to HBers because it is easier to gouge them, when breweries will only pay fair market value.

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My internet reasearch has shown me that Micro breweries pay around $2-$3 a POUND for hops.

Will you sell your hops for that? If I sell them to a brewery, am I helping Home brewers at all?

You mentioned gouging and hosing not me.

I'd be happy selling hops at prices below LHBS prices. I'd rather sell local, and have repeat customers. I'd rather give home brewers good value for their money. Additionally, I dont think I can harvest them all at once, and selling them in the amounts that home brewers use, allows me to harvest at an acceptable pace. Being involved in a local home brew club will allow me to help out the members there as well.

For the record, I figured $1.00 for 1/4 lb. or so.

You make a dryer.

Should only cost about 500-600 bucks.

I mean. A space heater, 8 sheets of plywood, 8 sheets of foam insulation a fan, a digital temp controller, and some wire-mesh bottomed shelves... voila.

Dont you have to harvest when the hops are ready, and not based on demand? I mean, when they ripen, dont they need to be picked? Regardless of what quantities HBers use?

You plan to sell them for $4 a pound dry? WOW

NTOLERANCE said:

For the record, I figured $1.00 for 1/4 lb. or so.

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As I just paid like almost $7 for 2 ounces of Cascade at the LHBS this is not a bad deal.

The Pol said:

I hope I read that wrong, because it kinda miffs me to think youd rather sell to HBers because it is easier to gouge them, when breweries will only pay fair market value.

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1) he's in it as a business, not a charity. The market is what it is.
2) LHBS = more labor and materials for packaging, labels, testing, etc.

Jeeez. Why are you being hard on the guy for trying to run a business? Some prespective?

The Pol said:

I dont know how to take that...

You can get more money from them because they regularly get hosed by the LHBS, so youd rather keep that price gouging up and sell to them, than sell at farm direct prices that are more like $.50 per ounce? (Hops Direct) Or half that if they are wet.

I hope I read that wrong, because it kinda miffs me to think youd rather sell to HBers because it is easier to gouge them, when breweries will only pay fair market value.

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It's like malt- I can buy it a # at a time for $2/#, or I can buy it 2000# at a time for $.60/#. There's probably an economics term for that, but I don't see it as a ripoff.


To the OP-
Check out http://www.coloradoorganichops.com/- they're a small place- 9 acres of organic hops- and they have some kind of machine they invented to pick hops on a small scale. I don't know where you're at, but they were renting it out to hops growers in the area.

jamesnsw said:

To the OP-
Check out http://www.coloradoorganichops.com/- they're a small place- 9 acres of organic hops- and they have some kind of machine they invented to pick hops on a small scale. I don't know where you're at, but they were renting it out to hops growers in the area.

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Yepp, thats Happy Hoppin Glens site. I have contacted him and will likely buy some rhizomes from him in the next month or so. He also offered to tutor me a bit.

economies of scale, buying in bulk, etc...

I just bought a pound of Summit pellets for $15.99 from NB when they were $2.99/oz... you do the math. I don't begrudge them for that mark-up. It's the cost of additional advertising/marketing, warehousing/storing, packaging, etc that goes into it, and while I wasn't "in need" of a pound of Summit, I will find something to use it for without too much worry!

The Pol said:

Dont you have to harvest when the hops are ready, and not based on demand? I mean, when they ripen, dont they need to be picked? Regardless of what quantities HBers use?

You plan to sell them for $4 a pound dry? WOW

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Yes, there is a limited time that hops should be harvested....but......

Its been my experience growing them at home, that not all hops ripen at the same time. Think corn....ever seen a farmer harvest only the corn on the south side of the fields, leaving the rest? That corn gets more sun, and ripens faster. MY hops acted the same way. Also, some varieties ripen sooner that others. I have 4 different types in my yard. Cascades came first, then Saaz, Nugget, finally sunbeam.

So....I have a window to work with.....small, but a window.

This is one additional reason selling to home brewers is beneficial....if they know the harvest is coming, They can plan to buy some at harvest time....especially if its a good deal.

Being honest......

My $4.00 a lb pricing was for Cascades...other hops may be more....not much, but hops like Centennial would be more. Just like they are at LHBS. (well at least near me they are)

Of course, this is just my ramblings at an early stage. Honestly, I dont plan to sell many (any?) the first two years. Any hops the first year will be tested (home tested) for bitterness. Second year, I'd probably send some to a lab for testing. Any hops I get in the first two years, I'd probably use myself, or give out a samples to local brewers. (get the word out)

Its great to have the advise and questions from this forum. The more I read the more I plan.

Thanks.

NTOLERANCE said:

Its been my experience growing them at home, that not all hops ripen at the same time.

Cascades came first,

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That was my experience this summer too. The Cascade was first and it was the most prolific. The window was at least three weeks long.

Randar said:

economies of scale, buying in bulk, etc...

I just bought a pound of Summit pellets for $15.99 from NB when they were $2.99/oz... you do the math. I don't begrudge them for that mark-up. It's the cost of additional advertising/marketing, warehousing/storing, packaging, etc that goes into it, and while I wasn't "in need" of a pound of Summit, I will find something to use it for without too much worry!

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This is one of the reasons I got into home brewing. I got tired of paying for bottles, and cardboard.

The less a seller has to handle his/her goods, the lower thier costs, and the lower they can sell for. Think of a malter paying one or two people $10.00 an hour, 8 hours a day, packing 1lb bags of 2 row. If a plastic bag for 1lb of 2 row costs 18 cents, a 5lb plastic bag probably costs 20 cents. Any guesses what an 80lb paper bag costs? $1.00? Costs of those 1 and 5 lb bags can add up quick.

Are you really going to pay rent on a field for two years without selling any product?

Sure, your harvest will be scant the first year, but why not sell it? If you dont, its just a waste.

Orangevango said:

Are you really going to pay rent on a field for two years without selling any product?

Sure, your harvest will be scant the first year, but why not sell it? If you dont, its just a waste.

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I PLAN on not having enough to sell. Anything I get beyond my own use, becomes a bonus, and I can sell.

So how much are you planting the first year?

Orangevango said:

So how much are you planting the first year?

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Ive planned $350 for rhizomes. Depening on where I buy them will dictate how many I get.

We can order hop plants throught he nursery at work. I can buy them near cost. The nursery manager has ordered hops before, as her husband is a home brewer. Many of the rhizomes we can order through the nursery are ornamental, but there are some good for brewing. The 2010 order forms arent out....so I dont know what they will have yet.

Cascades are an obvious choice as they offer good yields and disease resistance. I also want Centennial, Saaz, Tet, Amarillo, Simicoe....and a few others.

I'm Dan from Gorst Valley Hops, the second grower mentioned in the article in this month's BYO. I've got to jump in here and offer some advice for NTOLERANCE to save you a lot of headache.

1. If you are going to use the metal poles, make sure you put a good coating on them to prevent rust. A simple can of outdoor furniture Rustoleum will not do it. For at least the part that goes in the ground, look into 2 part enamel products that mix together before application or ceramic based paint. You want something that will give you a hard shell. (You can find these under industrial paints at rustoleum ,Sherwin Williams, etc. They have technical specialists you can call to point you in the right direction.)

2. Start getting those poles in now. We threw in a 1.5 acre field last year and it took all summer to get the hardware up, irrigation in place, etc. If you can get that in now, you are in much better shape.

On that topic, its probably too late at this point but we usually recommend people start with an acre because of all the work. But you sound committed to 3 at this point.

3. Have a harvesting plan in place. You have a window of about 4 days from when the cones are ready until you have to pick. Figure about 1/2 hour to an hour per plant for manual picking (by an adult). So about 10 people/day/acre if they are serious. Many more if they are volunteers.

4. Yes, you can spread out the harvest time by picking different varieties and other methods but don't plan any vacations in August...you will be busy. (A word of warning for those thinking of this, the harvest always falls on the same weekend as your favorite beer festival.)

5. Drying and processing ARE NOT SIMPLE. Trust me on this one. I spent the entire months of August, September and October answering drying questions from growers all over. Heat dries things out quickly, but kills your quality, evaporates your oils and shortens your shelf life. Not drying them sufficiently results in a product that will go bad within hours. I was amazed at how many ways people managed to screw it up.

To answer someone's previous question, if you wanted an oast to dry 1,000 lbs (dry weight), which is about 1/2 acre or more production, that would take about 900 cubic feet of space. If the bed were 18" deep, that would be a space around 20' x 30'

Processing is another story on top of that. Many brewers are being accommodating and taking whole hops and even wet hops, but that won't last when production ramps up. You are going to need to pelletize if for both ease of use and storage volume. A suitable pellet mill runs $40K or more...and then you find out you have to replace many of the parts with stainless steel so it is considered food grade. So add another 3 to 5k.

6. I think when you add everything up, $4/lb is shooting a bit low. You can't and shouldn't be competing with the big boys in the Pacific Northwest on price. I"m not sure where you are located, but if you can deliver a HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT, brewers will usually pay much more than market value. If we were selling for $4/lb, we would be out of business by now. The key is keeping quality up which means good growing practices, proper drying, harvesting, packaging, testing/analysis and storage.

I've heard others talk about focusing on the homebrewing market because of the higher premium. Yes, homebrewers pay a premium but its a market that is harder to reach, has smaller demand and (as has been pointed out) is much harder to package for. Frankly, you quickly tire of measuring out 1 oz, 2oz, 5 oz, etc. pacakges and individually sealing them. It is so much quicker to weigh out 44 pounds, dump it in a bag and seal away. With 3 acres, you could have as much as 6,000 lbs of hops in a few years. Even if you find avid homebrewers that consume 5 lbs/year...that's 1,200 homebrewers. And that assumes you have exactly what they want. I can't even keep my dad happy with 8 varieties.

7. Finally, get you rhizome orders in now. If you wait until Feb to put in orders of 100 or more, you will probably be out of luck.

Good luck.

For the record, I am not trying to be hard on you... I am just asking questions.

In my first post, I even said, I hope I am reading this wrong... and as you pointed out, I was. So, people can chillax a wee bit.

I am asking some hard questions though, as I know harvesting my own at home can certainly be a pain on a very small scale. I also know that many of my bines have (2) harvests per year... not one.

I think the drying and processing question was legit too, as the previous poster has stated... it isnt as simple as heat and a fan when you are producing for people other than yourself.

This is a huge undertaking, so I am just asking questions... questions that I would be asking if I were going to farm hops, ya know?

I personally think hard questions and critisizm are much more valuable to someone starting a bunsiness than "you are awesome, this is so cool, good luck!"

I do wish you the best, and I am glad that GVH_Dan chimed in, he may be a better resource here than the rest of us shmucks growing at home.

The Pol said:

I personally think hard questions and critisizm are much more valuable to someone starting a bunsiness than "you are awesome, this is so cool, good luck!"

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AMEN, brother Pol. Pats on the back boost confidence but don't get the work done. My first source of employment is in food processing/drying/freezing...so I figured these hops would be just another product. Nope. They are way different then nearly every other ag product I've worked on.

The Pol said:

I do wish you the best, and I am glad that GVH_Dan chimed in, he may be a better resource here than the rest of us shmucks growing at home.

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Don't underestimate the combined knowledge of the HomeBrewTalk throbbing brain. I started on this forum because a friend asked me to chime in on a question someone had. But I stuck around because of the questions, comments and thoughts you all come up with. You guys can spend hours studying a handful of plants and working out "innovative" ways to process them. You all come up with the hard questions that make me think and help improve the equipment we are developing.

Heck, the only other place I get this many ideas is from the...uhm...the guys that grow hops' "cousin" plant. I guess when you are stoned, you have more innovative thoughts than those of us that stick to beer.

The Pols questions were softballs IMO. GVH Dan pointed out some of the realities of the exact business you are looking to get into. I saw the $4 a pound selling price and almost fell out of my chair. I have one year of poor hop growing experience and 30+ years of accounting and business experience and without a detailed business plan and cost analysis you are going to be facing some stark realities.

You might want to get together with a good accountant or http://www.score.org/index.html which is a great resource.

Having a successful profitable business is a joy, having a money loser is a life changing event. I've done both.