HOPS TAKE HARD WORK
Interest grows in crop, but farms advised to be prepared
ARGYLE, N.Y. » Thanks to New York’s booming craft brewing industry, there’s plenty of opportunity for people interested in raising hops.
The fast-growing, vinelike plants -- called bines -climb up strings that hang down from cables extended between tall poles.
The unusual-looking systems are becoming more and more commonplace at local farms, as about two dozen area growers have started raising hops the past few years. But like all types of farming, the venture takes hard work and anyone expecting a profit needs to have a fairly large operation of eight to 10 acres.
That’s what Lily Calderwood, Washington County Cooperative Extension agent, told people participating in a tour of two sites on Thursday. The group visited Argyle Craft Malts & Hops, a farm that raises several different varieties, followed by a trip to a nearby processing facility, Dry Town Hops.
“With a local processor, you can still make a profit with fewer acres, but you really need to have a business plan and know what you’re getting into before you get going,” Calderwood said.
Camille Parisi, of Galway, who’s been growing hops for several years, agreed with Calderwood’s assessment.
“If a person loves farming and home brewing, growing hops might be for them,” she said. “We have around 4,000 bines at all stages. It takes several years for the bines to mature and produce a good crop. I’d recommend having a strong plan in place, from infrastructure to end user. We have three or four different brewers that take everything we grow. This year, City Steam in Connecticut will use our wet hops in a seasonal brew.”
Owl Valley Farm owner Richard Lemelson, of Pottersville, has two acres under production and sells to Adirondack Brewery in Lake George.
“Be prepared,” he said. “It’s fun, it’s very satisfying and I enjoy it, but it’s a lot of work. I work at it seven days per week from April to October.”
Lemelson’s 1,800 plants require constant care. Hops, quite literally, grow like weeds. New shoots must be trimmed so energy flows up the vines to pro-
duce cones that are harvested and used to make beer.
In 2015, the first year of production, his plants yielded about 250 pounds of hops. This roughly quadrupled to 1,071 pounds last year as plants matured and became more productive.
However, Lemelson is unsure about this year’s harvest because many plants are afflicted with a tip-rot disease that might be the result of too much moisture. Stressors such as downy mildew and leaf hoppers are also a challenge.
Calderwood explained correct procedures for training hops, which happens in the spring, plus the optimal harvest time that’s coming up in just a few weeks.
Harvesting is an extremely time-sensitive process. After cutting, cones must be separated from plants immediately, which can be done onsite with a harvesting machine, or by taking bines to a nearby processing facility.
There’s only a one- to two-hour window before quality quickly diminishes, Calderwood said.
That’s why Dry Town Hops only takes plants from growers within a 50mile radius.
“People should get into this with their eyes open, but they should also get into it thinking they’re going to grow the highestquality product the buyer can get,” Calderwood said. “High-quality products are our niche here in this area. We can’t compete with the big farms even within New York state.”