Washington Hop Growers Face Oversupply, Drought and Labor Challenges

The Pacific Northwest region of the United States produces about 99% of the nation’s hops. Washington state, which borders Canada, is the biggest hop-growing region overall, accounting for 75% of US production.

Washington hop growers are grappling with a difficult combination of tight margins, labor constraints, oversupply and a multi-year drought.

“The hop industry experienced a huge boom from 2011–2021. Growers doubled their acreage,” said Maggie Elliot, Science and Communications Director for Hop Growers of America. “Then COVID hit. People weren’t going to bars or stadiums or getting together. Beer consumption dropped, but hop pellets can be used for 3-5 years. It put the industry in a grievous oversupply situation.”

Growers have reduced their acreage about 30% since the 2021 peak, and beer sales have not returned to pre-COVID levels. “We’re trying to balance our inventory without knowing what our new normal is,” Elliot said.

Hops Have Multiple Short, Labor-Intensive Seasons

Hop growers have three major seasons: twining (also known as stringing season), training and harvest. Twining season typically happens in March.

“Every plant needs twine to wrap around, and every single one is hand strung,” Elliot explained. “There’s a thick wire that runs horizontally 18 feet/5/5 meters above every row. Crews hand twine for each plant to that top wire. During twining season, you’ll see crews in the air working on platforms and crews on the ground staking each line into the soil.”

Elliot said growers have tried to develop a machine for stringing hops, but differences in terrain and row configurations make it difficult to create something that would work across different operations. “Even if we had a mechanical solution, the machine would only be used one month out of the year. The return on investment would be hard to justify,” Elliot said.

In addition to twining and harvest season, there is also a training season for the bines.

“When the plant is 2–4 feet high/0.5-1 meters tall, the bine has to be wrapped around the support wire by hand to help it get going,” Elliot explained. “But if a wind storm blows through, the plant can fall off and has to be reattached.”

These short, labor-intensive seasons are one of the challenges Perrault Farms, Inc. in Washington state faces throughout the year.

“Our labor needs fluctuate dramatically,” said Jeff Perrault, MBA, MS, Vice President of Resources and Compliance at Perrault Farms, Inc. “Hops are photoperiod-sensitive, meaning many jobs must be completed within specific timeframes. Labor needs can increase by 200% for a four-week period and decline just as quickly.

Hop Growers Seek Better Data

Most of Washington’s hops are grown in the Yakima basin, which relies on snowmelt from the Cascade Mountains for irrigation. All Washington hop growers use drip irrigation, an absolute necessity because the Yakima basin is in its fourth year of drought.

Managing water use is a major concern and a challenge for hop growers. “We started using soil moisture monitors several years ago,” Perrault said. They’ve been helpful in the drought years because they allow us to quantify the acceptable moisture rate prior to irrigation shutoff (rotation), and each year we're learning more about appropriate soil moisture content.”

Elliot’s organization is working with four USDA (US Department of Agriculture) scientists. The team includes a hop breeder, a horticulturalist and a scientist dedicated to researching the water needs of different hop varieties.

“We are on a new frontier of understanding the moisture needs of different hop plants,” Elliot said. “We’re developing a precise understanding of how much water growers need to use for a particular variety based on how big the roots are, its canopy size, the soil type and data from Ag Weather Net.”

“It’s fun to see the collaboration and research,” she added. “When you have more scientists, there’s a multiplicity of ideas.”

Overcoming Barriers: What Hop Growers Want From Agtech

Technological advancements beyond irrigation remain challenging for the hops industry. But Perrault noted: “There is tremendous opportunity, particularly for technologies that make tissue and soil sampling more accurate, timely and actionable.”

“But,” he added, “Ultimately, the technology has to solve a real problem and be practical enough to work every day in a commercial farming environment. I encourage agtech companies to spend time understanding the realities of commercial farming before developing a solution.

“Growers operate on tight margins, labor needs can change dramatically throughout the season and many jobs have very narrow windows in which they need to be completed. Technology needs to be reliable, scalable and provide a measurable return on investment.”

Elliot echoed Perrault’s sentiment and added, “Growers don’t want to reinvent their business.”

“Sometime around 2021, a company tried to make a mechanical hops stringer. Unfortunately, the prototype didn’t work. When the company realized they weren’t going to make a profit on the machine, they tried to make money selling the twine. But our growers are loyal to their existing supply chain partners and it didn’t work out,” Elliot said.

This is not to say hop growers aren’t interested in innovation. “I think of the hop industry as the Wild West. People just try things on their own. There is an innovative spirit,” Elliot said.

When asked what new technology he might consider for his operation, Perrault said, “I’m interested in laser weeding, because hand weeding is extremely expensive”

FIRA USA 2026: Bringing Growers and Innovators Together

Laser weeders are one of the many innovations that will be on display in Yakima, Washington at FIRA USA 2026. The event brings together growers, engineers and scientists 20-22 October at State Fair Park.

The three-day event is free for growers and includes field demos, roundtable discussions, networking opportunities and more. Elliot will co-present a pre-event workshop on 19 October, Horticulture for Engineers.

Elliot said she is “Excited to see the consortium of all the great minds of engineers and scientists and our growers get together to see what solutions can be envisioned.”

Attend FIRA USA 2026