INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A more than $400,000 grant is aimed at furthering the growth of specialty crops in Indiana, including hops, a key ingredient in beer now in higher demand from the continued rise in popularity of craft brews.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) on Sept. 22 awarded the funds to five individual specialty crop projects in the state. "The selected programs sustain our goal of lifting Indiana agriculture to new heights," said Ted McKinney, ISDA director.
One of the recipients is Purdue University, where researchers are trying to pinpoint how to commercially grow hops effectively so it can be a more sustainable Indiana crop. Less than a half-acre of hops for research was first planted with a similar grant last year and early results are encouraging, said Lori Hoagland, assistant professor of horticulture at Purdue.
Already, she said the research has identified some of the varieties that do best in Indiana soil and climate, which is within the latitude considered ideal for hops to thrive. Indiana has about 30 growers and hops is becoming more of an emerging crop in Michigan.
"Our climate seems to work well for them," said Hoagland.
The early research has also found some diseases, such as downy mildew, are among potential areas of concern for growing hops, a perennial plant that has a lifespan once in the ground of about 10 years. Also discovered is that it costs about $10,000 an acre to start growing hops because of the trellis system and other infrastructure.
According to the ISDA, about $78,000 went toward research efforts at the West Lafayette campus. The cost of growing hops and whether Hoosier farmers can expect a sufficient profit from raising the plant are among the other purposes of the research.
Industry experts say craft breweries use more hops than traditional breweries, and rapid growth in the brew industry is expected to drive up costs and potentially result in hops shortages. "This creates an opportunity for Indiana growers, but hops are an intensive crop, and growers need to know what they’re getting into before they install hop yards," Hoagland said.
After the first year, efforts revolve mostly around managing the crop, which after emerging from the soil in April is ready for harvest in August. The plants having to be re-stringed on the trellis system after each harvest are among the challenges, and so is the labor-intensive picking if done by hand – but there are automated machines on the market that allow for a quicker and easier harvest, she said.
Just over $67,000 of the ISDA grant is for another project at Purdue aiming to reduce the severity of bacterial spot on tomatoes in Indiana by 10 percent, according to ISDA officials.
Another $25,000 was awarded to Growing Places, an effort in Indianapolis to expand the production of specialty crops grown organically and public education about perennial specialty crop opportunities.
The remainder of the funds are going to the ISDA’s Indiana Grown project, and ongoing research at Indiana University governing the use of high tunnels in raising specialty crops. The mission of Indiana Grown is to increase consumer awareness on the importance of buying crops grown in the state.
Hoagland said the research on hops will go on at least for another year. She does not believe hops will get anywhere close to the volume of major cash crops like corn and soybeans, especially in the Midwest, but feels there’s a window of opportunity for farmers at least for the next 10-20 years.
"There’s room for a lot of growth."
