It’s likely U.S. farmland devoted to raising hops this year will be nearly double that of 2012.
U.S. acreage devoted to growing hops has risen 75.5% in just four years. An additional 5,185 acres are expected this year, bringing the total U.S. hops acreage to 58,148. In 2012, Agriculture Department’s National Agriculture Statistics Service reported the total U.S. acreage was 29,683.
“To put it into perspective, the U.S. acres added in the last five years is larger than the total acreage of any other hop-growing country in the world, outside of our own and Germany, the two largest hop-producing countries. Further, our estimated 2017 acreage increase (5,185 acres – a 9.8 % growth) by itself is larger than other individual countries’ total acreage outside of the U.S., Germany, and the Czech Republic,” said Ann George, the Executive Director of Hop Growers of America.
“When a brewery has a hop variety they depend on and is crucial to their operation, it is dangerous to rely solely on the spot market. Growers rely on forward contracts to plan their acreage for many years out into the future. However, contracting an excessive amount above their needs is not wise either as brewers can be left with expensive hops that they may not be able to sell to other brewers. Over-contracting can also lead to a surplus in the market which tends to discourage future investments in productive capacity and leads to increasing market instability. A surplus can be just as disruptive to the market as a shortage,” said Patrick Smith, Vice President, B.T. Loftus Ranches, Inc.