Cost of Growing Hops in the Northeast

Introduction: As demand grows for hops in the Northeast, many farmers and entrepreneurs are thinking about the possibility of growing hops. Since this crop has been absent from the region for over a century, information is not readily available about the costs of hop production. This document is intended to help prospective hop growers consider the financial side of hop production. It complements an editable spreadsheet that you can use to model your hop farm available on the UVM Extension website1. The numbers included are based on interviews with Northeast hop growers in 2015. It is important to note that while the numbers are based on real businesses, your business may end up looking very different. This could mean that certain parts of the business could be more expensive than stated here; it also could mean that you can find cheaper ways to do things. All growers in the Northeast are developing their production systems and working on making them more efficient, including the growers interviewed in this project.