Last year, the Brewers Association announced an agreement with USDA to fund a public hops breeding program. Hops, a key ingredient in beer, has seen less breeding research than in the past. The not-for-profit group dedicated to small and independent American brewers saw an opportunity.

The first step was to reach an agreement with USDA to fund the program. The next step in development of the new public breeding program was announced recently — the partner organization where key work will be done.

The association announced execution of a subaward designating that Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (IAREC), Prosser, Wash., will be the operating partner facility.

This second phase of the effort to support the hops breeding program is a “major milestone in the process of adding public hop breeding capacity,” says Chris Swersey, supply chain specialist for the association. “WSU remains a historically important partner in public breeding. Located at the USDA ARS [Agricultural Research Service] breeding program at WSU, it leverages existing facilities and knowledge, and marks the return of public breeding to Washington, the leading hop-producing state.”

USDA ARS is a partner in this effort, and will next be seeking a breeder to staff the new effort. Ryan Hayes, researcher leader of the Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit for USDA ARS, noted there is an ongoing hops research program based in Corvallis, Ore., which is the only ARS research project devoted to the crop. “This [new] project is a great opportunity to build research capacity in the region that grows the majority of U.S. hops,” he says.

Moving research closer to crop
Doug Walsh, research director, environmental and agricultural entomology at WSU and IAREC in Prosser, notes that more than 75% of U.S. hops are grown near the facility. “We look forward to the hire of a USDA hops breeder in the near future and a successful partnership amongst the USDA, WSU and the Brewers Association in the development of robust and well-acclimated, publicly sourced hop varieties with desired brewing qualities,” he says.

The Brewers Association points out that the U.S. hops and brewing industries are seeing significant expansion, and they support more than 360,000 jobs valued at $33 billion. This growth has boosted demand for new and existing hops varieties nationwide. Yet the industry has also seen chronic loss and isolated catastrophic loss from pests and diseases, due to lack of broad-spectrum, durable resistance in the varieties the market demands.

The program’s research will prioritize breeding efforts in four areas: sensory requirements as determined by the 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.

Source: Brewers Association