Farming Hops Written on September 3, 2009, by justin.foss.
9/3/2009 - For the last two years, Seth Somerville has watched a unique crop grow in a farm near Oxford. He’s growing hops. You know, the ingredient in beer.
Seth Somerville is smelling some of this year's harvest of hops
It started after a global shortage of Hops in 2008. He was working at Millstream Brewery in Amana at the time. The shortage raised prices from $5 per pound to up near $25, in just a year.
The crop takes three years to mature and reach it’s full capacity. This is year two for Somerville’s hops.
He is the only Iowa farmer growing USDA certified organic hops. He knows that because when he we to get approved, they had to create a new code to classify hops. Although, Iowa used to grow hops, but that was pre-prohibition.
Somerville plans to sell the 30 pounds of hops he harvested from this year to local home-brewers. If you would like to get some, you can e-mail him at: iowahops@gmail.com.
Hops grow on ropes at this farm near Oxford. Sometimes they can grow up to 25 feet tall.
Somerville plans to sell the 30 pounds of hops he harvested from this year to local home-brewers. If you would like to get some, you can e-mail him at: iowahops@gmail.com.
Interesting fact of the day - hops are in the same family as marijuana and hemp. It’s just hops are legal to have.
These wonderful photos are courtesy of Chris Blake, he is the photographer I worked with for the shoot.
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Anyway, you can post an address for this farm, I would like to visit and buy some hops?
thanks.
It’s in Oxford, but most of the hops are already gone. You can e-mail him for more, if you would like.