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Local hops possibility for Ohio’s booming craft brewing industry
 
Ohio Farm News by Brad Bergefurd 
 
The region’s craft brewing industry is booming! There is an ever-increasing market for locally grown hops with the expanding brewing industry. Legislation in 2013 allowed Ohio’s craft brewers to invest more money into their breweries, increasing the demand for Ohio-grown hops.
More than 100 licensed Ohio beer manufacturers and thousands of home brewers send an estimated $30 million in hops purchases and related jobs out of Ohio by purchasing the flowers of the hop plant, called hop cones or “hops,” from out of state. Hops are a main ingredient in beer manufacturing, providing a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt sugars, and a refreshing finish.
Based on the increased interest from brewers in buying locally grown hops, farmers and landowners are exploring making an investment in hops production. This demand has created a huge opportunity for local growers to get into hops production.
In fact, the 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture revealed the number of farms growing hops nationwide jumped to 166 in 2012, up from 68 in 2007.
Until 2013, research-based production guidelines for insect and disease management, irrigation and fertilization needed to produce hops had been lacking. Thanks to a USDA/Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Specialty Crop Block Grant, The Ohio State University has developed a hops research program focused on production and marketing.
The research and extension education program is being led by Mary Gardiner, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, and me, an OSU extension agriculture educator.
Are you interested in growing and marketing one of the most highly-sought agricultural crops for Ohio’s rapidly expanding craft brewing industry? Would you like an opportunity to meet and develop a marketing relationship with some of Ohio’s commercial craft brewers? If so, you may want to consider participating in the second annual Ohio Hops Conference and Trade Show, in partnership with the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference, Feb. 5-6 in Wooster.
This conference will be of interest to beginning and advanced hops growers, or anyone interested in the rapidly growing Ohio Craft brewing and hops industry. Of particular interest will be a two-day trade show to showcase the latest in hops production and craft brewing technologies by 30 nationwide vendors. Last year’s Ohio Hops Conference was sold out, so we suggest those interested in attending this year’s conference register online early.
The conference will feature detailed information on the latest in hops production and craft brewing technologies, with numerous sessions by experts from OSU extension, OARDC, Ohio Craft Brewers Assoc., Ohio Hops Growers Guild, Cornell University, University of Vermont, USDA Farm Service Agency, Great Lakes Hops, ODA, Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control and many of the state’s finest craft breweries.
Conference sessions will include:
•Mobile hop harvesters
•Planning to make your hop farm profitable
•How brewers select their hops
•Managing diseases in the hops yard
•Collaborative marketing – Ohio Hops Guild
•Hops fertility management using petiole analysis and fertigation
•Greenhouse to field, giving hops a jump-start
•Enhancing beneficial insects in your hop yard
•Identifying and managing hops pests
•Using cover crops as an integrated pest management tool in hops
•Weed and herbicide management
•Soil selection, preparation and fertility
The two-day program will be held in the Fisher Auditorium and Shisler Conference Area, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio, on the OARDC campus. The event will also feature the Ohio Craft Brewers and Ohio Hops Social Banquet on Feb. 5, from 7:30-10 p.m. at the Shisler Conference Center.
Registration for the conference is $200 and includes breakfast and lunch for both days, transportation for attendees between the banquet and conference hotels, a flash drive with the conference presentations and a conference booklet with vendor, speaker and program information. The banquet is an additional cost of $50 per person.
The deadline to register for the conference is Jan. 25.
Of interest to new and beginning hop growers will be a pre-conference workshop titled “Getting Started in Hops Production,” taking place on the evening of Feb. 4 at the same location. The new and beginning growers’ workshop will provide one-on-one education covering the basics of hops production, including soil and fertility management, variety selection, pest and disease control, trellis construction, weed management and other important details to help new growers get started.
To participate in the new and beginners workshop will require separate registration, and seating is limited.
To register for the Hops Conference, go to www.regonline.com/ohiohopsconference and more information can be found at http://southcenters.osu.edu/horticulture /other-specialties/hops/2015-ohio-hops- conference-trade-show
To register for the pre-conference workshop, visit www.regonline.com/ gettingstartedinhops
For more information, call Charissa McGlothin at 740-289-2071, ext. 132, or email Brad Bergefurd at Bergefurd.1@ osu.edu
1/15/2015