Brewers Association is funding public hop breeding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The goal is to develop disease resistant aroma hop cultivars into the public domain, in support of hop growing efforts throughout the U.S. The trust agreement between the Brewers Association and USDA-Agriculture Research Service provides funding for a program located in Washington and Oregon to leverage significant existing academic and operational infrastructure.
“Public hop breeding creates benefits for a broad range of groups within the hop and brewing industries,” said Chris Swersey, supply chain specialist for the Brewers Association. “Research to develop and release hop cultivars with no intellectual property protection ensures that all growers have access to high quality, disease-resistant cultivars they need to sustain production at levels required by brewers.
“In the long-term, this important program will fuel efforts of existing legacy growers as well as nascent hop growing industries throughout the U.S. The program will also fulfill an essential stewardship strategy by providing foundational germplasm for public and private breeding programs. Even the smallest brewers will be able to source ingredients they need to produce that truly local pint.”
The U.S. hop and brewing industries are experiencing unprecedented expansion, and currently support over 360,000 jobs and is valued at $33 billion. This growth has created strong demand for new and existing hop varieties nationwide. Concurrently, chronic loss and isolated catastrophic loss from pests and diseases have increased because of the lack of broad spectrum, durable resistance in the varieties demanded by the market place. The net impact is disease management costs and crop damage that approach 15 percent of total crop value, destabilization of critical supply chains and lost export opportunities.
“Public sector development of new hop varieties that combine disease resistance and improved brewing quality are needed to sustain the expansion of crop production and meet the increased demand for high quality hops,” said Ryan Hayes, research leader of the Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit. “Support from the Brewers Association is instrumental in helping the USDA meet this goal.”
“The BA’s funding of public hop breeding, structured through the USDA, will allow development of germplasm that serves all growing regions with viable disease resistant varieties. The Hop Research Council will now have a secure base that we can work with to add value to all segments of our members,” said Fred Geschwill, president, Hop Research Council. “Having been involved in the public breeding effort for the last decade, I can honestly say this is the most exciting development the program has ever seen.”
The research will prioritize breeding efforts in four areas: sensory requirements as determined by the Brewers Association through a collaborative and participatory brewer and industry stakeholder program; improved downy mildew resistance; improved powdery mildew resistance; and improved agronomic performance compared to existing aroma cultivars.