Could the hop industry ask for subsidies from the U.S. government to encourage growth of acreage planted?
In Europe, they do get subsides. Haven’t had it in the US for acreage, but has been looked at in the past. Have gotten grant money for research and development projects at times, but not for acreage that I am aware of. 5. Do you see any farmers growing organic hops domestically in the near future? Yes, I do. We have four farmers to my knowledge, trying this, but we will have to wait and see how successful they are. I will have more organic hops next year, but the varieties will be limited as many are just not well suited towards being grown organically. In short, you need to have a strong plant that is pretty resistant to disease and pests. Much of the plantings are very new and we will have to wait and see how successful it will be. There are hops being grown to a limited degree in the UK, Germany and New Zealand. The supply is not always that stable and I hope we can correct some of this with the new US growers getting involved. Very early to tell how successful they will be, but the
