It may be local...but is it quality?

When we little guys are playing in the sandbox with the big boys we simply cannot compete on volume or afford to be exposed to the whims of crooked commodities pricing for our goods. So we have to focus on other value-added attributes that can set us apart from the cacophony, especially in a specialty market like hops. So what are our options? Many folks jump right to "organic" as a mechanism of adding value and hopefully justifying the prices we need to stay solvent. but the marketing juggernaut has turned the principle of organic production into a buzzword and it has lost some of its meaning (not to mention the market for organic hops is iffy at best).

Okay...so how about "local" as an angle? Local can work...if the buyer can translate that into increased revenue and be comfortable with the inherent risk of possibly supply volatility. When coupled with typically higher price points the label of "local" may not be enough to sustain a business.

however, one thing we producers DO have control over is quality (or quality impactors). As a good friend and Master Brewer once said, "I don't care if it was grown in my back yard...if it is crap, I don't want it." To me, that says it all. We must be willing to identify the factors that impact quality and build controls around them to not only provide a framework in which to operate, but also to illustrate our sincerity to our customers. If we build a production system that copies the large producers' operations we can expect a similar outcome...including their price structure and expectations.

So, as a grower you talk of delivering local, high quality product and want a premium for your for it.

Prove it... Demonstrate your know-how and mastery of your craft. Instill confidence to your customer base. This is serious business...act appropriately.

Knowledge is not free...

This is a rant...plain and simple. I try to keep such things to a minimum and only post topics of value or insights I find cool. However, this topic is something of a thorn for me.

As many folks know, GVH offers workshops on both beginning commercial scale hop growers and more advanced, technical topics. Our GVH team has numerous decades worth of combined professional experience that we utilize when designing and presenting our classes and other outreach activities. Yet there is a percentage of the audience that believes this information should be free.

I understand that the Internet age has made a plethora of infomation available for the price of a monthly service provider. When I was young my grandfather would tell me that the US was still a place where someone with an idea and a strong work ethic could get ahead and be successful. I always believed that but came to understand why he made such a point of it...he saw the coming age when it would be acceptible for people to expect things (material and idealogical) handed to them.

It is much the same with information. Beware of free or found info that seems very detailed or "exactly what I'm looking for..." as it is usually too good to be true. Typically, I have found, this "free" info is opinion or tradition, usually light on critical info. As with all things... "you get what you pay for..."

The power of beer can make agriculture cool...

That's right...beer is sexy and that makes the stuff beer is made from sexy. But even the power of full-blown beer-geekdom cannot overshadow the fact that (in this case hops) this is still agriculture. If hops were associated with animal feed production then there would be no casual, drive-by gawkers or bold trespassers in our hop yards. When was the last time a car full of guys piled out to get their picture taken in front of a field corn plot?

The fact is that a generic wheat field on a tiny island in Lake Michigan would be otherwise completely overlooked if not for the fact that the crop is a main ingredient in Capital Brewery's Island Wheat beer. There is a path worn in the vegetation up to a small sign indicating that this wheat is utilized by Capital. Why is there a path? Because all of the folks who have their pictures taken in front of an obscure wheat field, that's why.

I am an amateur beer geek so I understand the allure of all things fermented but I am also a farmer, horticulturist, teacher, and business owner. And if it takes beer to cause a new agricultural revolution then I'm all for it...

Freak mega-storm + hop yard = a whole lot of work

We knew that our hop yard would be a demonstration venue for prospective growers, hop-heads, lookyloos, etc. not long after it was installed. Nevertheless the yard is a working farm and managed to be productive. We also use it to demonstrate various production practices, materials, and techniques. And now we can use the yard as a demonstration of how to re-build after the God of Thunder lays waste, utterly.

So here is the play-by-play. Here in Southern Wisconsin it has rained off and on every week for the last month. The ground is saturated to say the least. The combination of huge wind, saturated ground, and ridiculously vigorous Mt. Hoods pulled the deadmen right out of the ground, concrete and all. Once the leading row collapsed it was a domino effect. End result: 5 rows of Mt. Hood layed sideways and 1 row of EKG at about 45 degrees. The good news is the hops were not damaged at all. We're still on for a record Mt. Hood yield.

New to the Blog gig...

Well, this is something new for me...a blog. I always wondered how bloggers could be so convinced that others, some complete strangers, would be compelled to read every random word that comes to mind...but hey, who am I to deny the complete strangers, so here we go!