hops

Washington State Department of Agriculture officials confirmed last week that Japanese beetles have spread beyond the initial quarantine area established earlier this year.  On Thursday, December 15th, the WSDA filed an emergency rule to expand the boundaries of the internal quarantine of Japanese beetle.  The Dep...

Hop stocks held by growers, dealers and brewers on September 1st increased 9% year-over-year.  According to NASS, stocks earlier this month totaled 139 million pounds, a notable increase from the 128 million pounds reported September 1st, 2021.  Stocks ...

Earlier this week, Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkely announced that Oregon State University will receive more than $180,000 in federal funds to help hops growers.  The funding will be used to research and develop management strategies for the fusarium canker fungus killing hops in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.   “...

A study from Oregon State University found where beer ingredients are grown make a big difference; just like with wine grapes.  Researchers chemically analyzed acids and compounds for Cascade and Mosaic hops from the 2020 harvest year, grown in 39 different locations.  ...

According to NASS, as of August 1st, the winter wheat crop in Idaho is forecast at 65.5 million bushels, unchanged from July 1st numbers, but 44% larger than last year.   Harvested area, at 720,000 acres, is up 80,000 acres from 2021.  Yield is exp...

Hop production has seen a significant increase nationwide over the last two decades, thanks to the craft beer industry.  But as NASS' Lance Honig explains, this year's annual production forecast is all about one region of the country. "We're still focused on the Pacific Northwest; all of our estimates they are coming out of Idaho, Washington Oregon, ." ...

Late last week, Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologists confirmed the first report of Japanese beetle larvae for the year.  This is the first report of a larvae or grub confirmed in the beetle infestation area near Grandview, WA.  A ...

According to NASS, hop acreage strung for harvest in 2022 is forecast at 59,896 acres nationwide, off 2% from last year’s record of 60,872 acres. In Washington, to top hop producing state in the country, 42,428 acres were strung for harvest, down 3% year over year. In ...

This is the first year of new overtime pay requirements for the farming community in Washington, and while many questions remain, one thing is certain, the agriculture community is concerned about what this will do to the health of the state’s farm economy in the long run. Dan ...

Ann George, Executive Director of the Washington state Hop Commission was recently honored by the state Department of Agriculture. Last week, she was presented the WSDA’s Director’s Citation, which is given to those in the farming community who the Department says have devoted their lives to promote and enhance agriculture in the state. “Ann ha ...