Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: hops
Practices
- Education and Training: farmer to farmer, mentoring, networking
Proposal abstract:
The topographic limitations in the state of West Virginia present a need for farmers to diversify into smaller market channels and work in collaboration to meet market demands. The proposed project aims to support nascent hops producers in establishing profitable quality hops for the stable market opportunity found in the craft brewing industry present within West Virginia. This project seeks to catalyze a nascent West Virginia-based hops growers collective by providing technical assistance and peer to peer mentorship to determine which of eight market-demanded hops varieties are most suitable in West Virginia’s climate and market. Additionally, the project will develop the collective's overall capability to market their hops products as it helps establish a West Virginia Hops Growers Collective.
The project will also foster an environment of collaboration through technical assistance, peer-to-peer mentorship, and networking forums. Additionally, this project will produce a toolkit for other nascent West Virginia hops growers and create a market development strategy in order to distribute hops into the craft brewing industry in West Virginia.
Project objectives from proposal:
This project seeks to catalyze a nascent West Virginia-based hops growers collective by providing technical assistance and peer to peer mentorship to determine which of eight market-demanded hops varieties are most suitable in West Virginia’s climate and develop the collective's overall capability to market their hops products.
Objective 1) Provide technical assistance and peer to peer mentorship to determine which of eight market-demanded hops varieties, Cascade, Centennial, Nugget, Willamette, Columbus, Zeus, Cluster, and Chinook, are most suitable in West Virginia’s climate.
Discovery: Identify the varieties that yield the best production by collecting data regarding a) Pest and disease pressure b) Yield c) Variety quality/profile.
Objective 2) Provide technical assistance in order to facilitate cooperative marketing of hops amongst participating and future farmers
Discovery: By developing relationships amongst hops producers and buyers this project will create a collective marketing strategy to increase the amount of hops product grown in West Virginia that is utilized in craft brewing.
Farmer Impact: This project will produce a toolkit with specific data collected by the participating farmers, which will both mitigate risk for future producers and inform craft beverage makers about the hops that they can feasibly source in West Virginia.