Could Nebraska be the next hops-producing state? Most of the hops in the U.S. are grown in Pacific Northwest states like Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, as well as in Michigan – around 77% of U.S. hops production is in Washington's Yakima River Valley. Hops were grown in Midwestern states like Nebraska before prohibition, however. And with the help of a new project launched by UNL this summer, Nebraska could become a viable contender for hops production.

The project, if successful, would help meet growing craft brewing demands and offer farmers an opportunity to diversify their crop production. According to Stacy Adams, associate professor of practice in agronomy and horticulture, and the project's lead, estimates show the U.S. needs an additional 11,000 to 11,500 acres of hops by the year 2020 to meet the growing demands of the microbrewing industry.

Adams' interest in hops came three years ago when he realized the amount of interest the millennial generation has concerning food production. "They want to know who the grower is, where the food came from. Chain restaurants are struggling with that, and those restaurants are serving people my age, but they're not nailing the new generation," Adams says. "At a conference three years ago, we were talking about the downward trend of traditional beer brands, and how people's unique palates have shifted in coffee and foods – and beer was the next logical choice."

Optimal conditions
Back in the 1800s, hops were grown in many parts of the Midwest, including Nebraska. Thanks to prohibition and disease, hops acres were drastically reduced. However, Adams notes with powdery mildew and downy mildew-tolerant varieties suited to the local climate and soils, hops can be grown commercially anywhere north of the 35th parallel. "I know we're never going to be a major hops producer, but what we can provide is some high-value alternative crops for farmers to diversify their income," Adams says. "We have regions along the Missouri River Valley that have some nice microclimates that might offer farmers a chance to grow a high-value specialty crop."

Nebraska may not have the temperature modulation of the Great Lakes region or the longer daylight hours of the Pacific Northwest, but certain varieties may provide an opportunity for hobbyists and commercial producers alike to grow hops in Nebraska.

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Hops prefer a lot of sun, warm temperatures, and well-drained, lower pH soils. Nebraska soils are typically higher in clay content, but the state also has plenty of uplands with deep loess soils along the Missouri River Valley, and sandy soils (and higher elevations and sunlight) in the western reaches of the state – although those sandy soils are typically calcareous and have high pH.

Another challenge in Nebraska is wind – a double-edged sword that makes the environment less conducive to disease, but also can cause moisture to leave too quickly. So, at the East Campus research site, Adams is experimenting with 12-foot trellises – rather than the traditional 20-footers – and narrower spacings with the goal of raising similar pounds per acre while mitigating moisture loss to wind.

A booming interest
What started as a project by Adams to study the viability of a specialty crop has grown into a collaboration across departments at UNL – from agronomy and horticulture to food science.

The project's main goal is to identify varieties that can achieve consistent flavor and aroma profiles in Nebraska's volatile environment. Currently, Adams is working with eight varieties potentially suited to Nebraska's climate and soil, and have shown resistance to powdery and downy mildews, including Centennial, Chinook, Crystal, Perle, Willamette, Columbia, Cluster and Zeus. The five test fields include UNL's East Campus, the Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff, and three fields owned by cooperating farmers in Valparaiso, Norfolk and Sutton.

The project also involves working with individual farmers and the Midwest Hop Producers to establish processing options for hops, and possibly developing a specialized Nebraska hop with a unique flavor profile. The project is funded through an $83,000 specialty crop block grant from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

In addition to comparing productivity and quality of existing varieties, the project is also working to identify wild cultivars within the state. "I'm working with Keenan Amundsen (assistant professor of agronomy and horticulture), who is doing genetic mapping of the wild hops that have been found in Nebraska. We're trying to find one specific native variety from Nebraska," Adams says. "It's somewhere in the Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota triangle. It's elusive, but if it's survived 150 years in Nebraska, that indicates it has some traits suitable for our environment."