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Thinking of starting your own hop farm?

January 30, 2015Jason Morgan

Growing hops is tough. As an agricultural product, it’s subject to the whims of mother nature, not to mention the amount of capital it takes to get a hop farm off the ground. That’s not to say it can’t be done. In early 2013, there was a crop of small hop farmers that were budding to support local craft brewers. That trend continues today. If you’re a craft brewer looking to start your own farm or a pioneering entrepreneur, this webinar from eOrganic on how to start a small-scale hop production is a good place to begin:

It’s certainly tough, but starting your own small hop farm is an attainable goal. It even has the support of the larger growers and distributors. When we last checked in with Sean McGree, hop specialist with BSG CraftBrewing, he said:

“I think the new hop farms have been great,” he said. “I have been in this industry long enough to witness a dwindling grower base — less than 40 growers in the Northwest today — and major brewers reducing hopping rates every year to almost the point of extinction. The craft brewing industry has generated some major excitement, and the new hop farms have popped up as a result.”

Of course, as a small startup, your hop success will live and die on the quality of your business – from your initial planning to quality control processes. While hops are hardy plants that can grow in just about any climate, there are many challenges that face small startup growers. For a full overview, click here to read our feature on the craft beer industry’s impact on hop growers.

crosby hop farm hops plant cbb crop
The entire 2017 growing season gets time lapsed in this Crosby Hop Farm video
Founders hops cbb crop guy holding
Enjoy these videos of Founders Brewing touring the hop harvest
BREWD hop contract spreadsheet
Watch: Handy new, free tool for managing your hop contracts
Rub hops with Stone Brewing (Loral and Centennial varieties)

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Comments

  1. biercraft says

    February 2, 2015 at 11:55 am

    Thinking of starting your own hop farm? http://t.co/eQPZ83gxEs

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  2. BeerBoheme says

    February 1, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    Thinking of starting your own hop farm? http://t.co/cRwkYS4ynf #beer #hops #farming

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  3. belgianbeerday says

    January 31, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    Thinking of starting your own hop farm? http://t.co/BWbVuGkkk5

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  4. Jesper Sahlsten says

    January 31, 2015 at 6:07 am

    Jesper Sahlsten liked this on Facebook.

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  5. John E Bittermann says

    January 30, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    John E Bittermann liked this on Facebook.

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  6. jspeedymorris22 says

    January 30, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    Thinking of starting your own hop farm? http://t.co/MSpm54f5Ey via @CraftBrewingBiz

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  7. T Alfonso Campos Barrantes says

    January 30, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    T Alfonso Campos Barrantes liked this on Facebook.

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  8. Jonathan Ayers says

    January 30, 2015 at 2:22 pm

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  9. Gregory Evantash says

    January 30, 2015 at 2:22 pm

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  10. Francesco De Luca says

    January 30, 2015 at 1:37 pm

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  11. jcaligure says

    January 30, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Thinking of starting your own hop farm? http://t.co/J0yWiZektV Some good stuff from @eOrganics

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  12. Henrique De Luca says

    January 30, 2015 at 12:52 pm

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  13. James Swann says

    January 30, 2015 at 12:52 pm

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